Following the disrespectful behavior of some visitors—including nudity and even the filming of pornography—Bali it’s reported that Bali is done with foreigners taking liberties (and, apparently, their clothes off) on their sacred mountains. The Indonesian island has issued a blanket ban on hiking and climbing.
Legendary surfing, beautiful beaches, delicious food, ancient temples—Bali is an iconic tourist destination for good reason. But guests to the Indonesian island don’t always show it due respect, leading the government to consider, and implement, increasing measures to preserve the country’s natural and cultural resources, as well as keep unruly tourists in check.
On May 31, Bali governor Wayan Koster announced a sweeping ban on all climbing and hiking on the island’s 22 mountains. Indefinitely. The ban was prompted by lewd and disrespectful behavior by tourists on the slopes of the mountains, which are sacred to the Balinese. It’s reported that the only exception to the rule is emergency disaster responses and religious ceremonies—other than that, Balinese are prohibited from visiting the mountains too.
“These mountains are sacred and revered. If their sanctity is damaged, it is the same as degrading the sacredness of Bali,” Koster said at a press conference.
The ban has not been popular among many locals, particularly guides who saw their business become illegal overnight. The situation doesn’t look much better for the people operating lodging or restaurants that cater to tourists in rural areas around the mountains.
“We ask the Governor, the Regional Police Chief, and the Regent to sit together first. Let them receive input from the lowest [level, from] those who know about the ins and outs of the existence of those mountains,” I Ketut Sucipto, the head of a traditional village at the base of Mount Batukaru, told the Bali Sun.
Sucipto and other locals with interests laying in mountain-centric tourism have called on the governor to find a middle ground between an all-out ban and existing restrictions (which, some argue, weren’t properly enforced to begin with). Not only will the brunt of the economic damage fall on guides and rural towns, Sucipto also argues that tourists’ disrespect hasn’t detracted from the sacredness of the mountains, telling the Sun, “Foreign tourists have never polluted heaven.” The tourism minister has said that measures will be put in place to ease the brunt of the damage to guides’ businesses, but the specifics of those measures are still unclear.
In the run-up to Koster’s announcement, there were reports of all sorts of disrespectful tourist behavior on and off the slopes of Bali’s mountains. A Russian tourist took a semi-naked photo on Mount Agung, the tallest peak, and posted it to social media. He was deported and banned from re-entry for six months. A couple of years ago, authorities determined that a pornographic video had been filmed on Mount Batur.
The power dynamics of visiting less economically developed countries are always fraught. Service providers depend on wealthier tourists for their livelihoods, which means that imposing discipline or regulations on guests comes at the risk of losing business. It’s easy, as a tourist, to feel entitled to services and experiences. But the steps the Balinese government is taking are an important reminder that we are, ultimately, guests in someone else’s home. The impetus is on the visitor to be respectful and considerate, if they want to be invited back again.
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Miyo McGinn is a writer, fact-checker, and self-described aspiring ski bum based in Washington. Her bylines can be found at Grist, High Country News, and Outside. She covers US and global news stories for Adventure.com.
