Over the years, the grace and charm of Bali and its people have earned this tiny island numerous sobriquets of praise and homage: Island Of The Gods; The Last paradise; Land Of The Thousand Temples; Morning Of The World. Generations of foreign visitors, mesmerized by the placid lifestyle and fantastic rituals of the gregarious Balinese, have sought to capture the island’s spirit with poetic labels such as these.

And yet it is Bali that does the capturing. Covering less than 6,000 square kilometers, this lush, diamond-shaped isle attracts tourist, each drawn by the promise of a paradise on the earth. This is a land of startling geographical contracts, of verdant rice terraces and sacred, mist-wreathed volcanoes, of white-sand beaches and dense tropical rain forest. and this is home to one of the world’s most vibrant cultures; a society famed for its dance and music, it’s lavish ceremonies and artistic achievements.