Bali

Bali is an island and province of Indonesia and includes a few smaller neighbouring islands notably Nusa Penida. It is located at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands between Java to the west and Lombok to the east and has its capital of Denpasar at the southern part of the island.With a population of 3890757 in the 2010 census and currently 4.22 million the island is home to most of Indonesias Hindu minority. According to the 2010 Census 84.5% of Balis population adhered to Balinese Hinduism 12% to Islam and most of the remainder followed Christianity. Bali is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts including traditional and modern dance sculpture painting leather metalworking and music. A tourist haven for decades the province has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.Bali is part of the Coral Triangle the area with the highest biodiversity of marine species. In this area alone over 500 reef building coral species can be found. For comparison this is about 7 times as many as in the entire Caribbean. There is a wide range of dive sites with high quality reefs all with their own specific attractions. Many sites can have strong currents and swell so diving without a knowledgeable guide is unadvisable.