Nusa Penida – Kelingking Beach : Let’s Get On The Back of A T-Rex

It’s a no brainer that Kelingking Beach is the most popular place of interest in Nusa Penida. It’s on the bucket list of everyone who is travelling to Nusa Penida, and if you have been stalking instagram, chances are you have seen the photos of this beautiful place everywhere. If Devil’s Tears is the icon of Nusa Lembongan, Kelingking Beach is the icon of Nusa Penida. This stunning T-rex shape cliff has taken the Instagram by storm for the past couple of years, resulting in its immense popularity among Bali visitors.

You've probably seen this on Instagram

The journey

The ride to the Kelingking Beach is disastrous, to say the least. The first half an hour from Toya Pakeh was okay but after passing through several villages, we started riding on huge potholes and steep cracked roads. If you are not good with motorbikes, you should stay away from riding one and get a driver instead. There were several reported accidents before. 

Our ride to Kelingking Beach

The Pinkie

The name “Kelingking” means “pinkie” in Indonesian, which literally means the smallest finger on the hand. The name originated from the shape of the cliff, which resembles that of a “pinke promise”.

Did you see a pinkie or a T-rex?

However, it was the resemblance to the shape of a T-rex which popularised this place. If you look closely at the cliff, you should be able to see the shape of a T-rex head with mouth wide open on the left, while the tail seemingly wraps around to the right. Impressive isn’t it?

T-rex head on the left, tail on the right. And we are standing on its back!

The viewpoint

Viewpoint #1

To get to this viewpoint, simply walk over from the parking area and towards the warungs which are perched on the mountain. Further down the restaurant, you will see a cliff which the main viewing point is. From here you can enjoy the view all the way down to the beach. This is the perfect spot to fully grasp the shape of the T-rex. Bamboo railings are installed in most part of the cliff, but there are not that sturdy, so don’t lean on them too much. At some points along the cliff edge, there is no railing and the grass just leads you off the edge, down hundreds of feet onto the rocks. There is this particular spot which seems to be everyone favourite as you can see lines forming for photograph.

No railing at this section as you can see

I didn't dare sit with my legs dangling here, fearing I would fall

However, several steps up on the concrete path would bring you to another beautiful spot.

Viewpoint #2

Safer as there bamboo railings

But don't lean on it as it's not that sturdy

You’ll spot a tree here and to take the perfect shot, have your friend climbed up the tilted tree while you stand in front of the bamboo railing. The angle from that direction was my favourite. Just make sure to be careful while climbing the tree and don’t fall and hurt yourself. 

This is taken by Terry who climbed up the tree behind

The hike down

One interesting thing which differentiate Kelingking Beach from all the other point of interest in the island is that it is an adventure in itself.  Not only that it offers an incredible view from the edge of the cliff, you can even hike down to the beach at the bottom of the cliff.

Hiking down to the beach

From the T-rex viewpoint, we hiked along the ridge or the spine of the T-Rex, which led us down to the shore. The hike is quite steep despite the short distance, so if you don’t think you can make it you can always just enjoy the view on the top. If you are lucky, you could spot some manta rays from there.

Manta rays spotted in the water

On our way down, it was quite congested as a young lady was feeling unwell while half way descending. As a result, she couldn’t continue further as she was feeling dizzy and out of breath. She didn’t look like she’s in good shape and as I was checking on her, I was told that she had only just recently discharged from the hospital. Suffice to say, if you are feeling unwell, please stop and don’t force yourself to it. The lady was later brought back up to safety.

People coming up as we were going down

See how steep it is?

There are locally-made bamboo railings along the path but do note that they aren’t that sturdy. It took us about 40 minutes to go down and another half an hour to climb back up. If you are too thirsty after the hike down, they do sell soft drinks there but probably not cheap for the effort to bring them down. 

Grabbing on to the bamboos for some extra support as I was wearing flip-flop

See how we are walking on a T-rex spine?

It gets crowded

Grateful that I did get some solo shot. Hee!

Finally the beach is near!

The Beach

Behold, the beach!

If you are physically fit, I would suggest hiking down to the beach. As not many tourists venture down there, it is not overcrowded and is considered quite secluded. The sand was soft and white, and the sea water was of beautiful turquoise colour. However, do note that the waves here are pretty strong, so this probably isn’t a beach for novice swimmers. Please don’t swim if you can't be sure to handle the strong waves. 

The sand is really soft, I enjoy the stroll

See how beautiful it is

I wish I have abs

The waves were pretty crazy so we didn't swim but that didn't stop us from playing with the water

Look at the waves behind me

As I couldn’t swim, Terry and I made sure to stay near the shore, as we enjoyed being hit by the waves. It’s terrifying and exciting at the same time. Unfortunately for us, Terry lost his spectacles while being flush by a strong wave as he had forgotten to remove them beforehand. As a result, we didn’t stay there for long and decided to hit the road before the sky turned dark. This is the part where I blame myself for not knowing how to ride a motorbike.

Before he lost his spectacles

We skipped Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong and decided to head back to the hotel immediately. However, for those of you who can squeeze them into the same day, you should do them all in a day as they are in the same area after all.

Got ourselves a coconut to quench our thirst before heading back to the hotel

We reached Nusa Garden Bungalow around 7.30pm and ended walking to a nearby Artrolling Bistro for pizza. After a thorough discussion to evaluate our situation, we decided to skip Atuh Beach, Pulau Seribu and Rumah Pohon Molenteng which are all on the east side of Nusa Penida, and only cover Broken Beach, Angel’s Billabong and Crystal Bay.

Pizza @ Atrolling Bistro

Grilled snapper @ Atrolling Bistro

Cost

There is no admission fee but there will be locals there collecting a parking fee of RP 5,000 from you.

How to get there

Kelingking Beach is about 1 hour away from Toya Pakeh beach, on the northeastern side of the island. It follows the same road to Angel’s Billabong and Broken Beach, before splitting at an intersection, where you turn left for Kelingking and right for the latter two (which are right next to each other). They are about 40 minutes away from Kelingking beach, hence these three places can be easily combined as a day trip.  

If you’re travelling over from Nusa Ceningan / Nusa Lembongan, you’ll most likely arrive at Toya Pakeh beach in Nusa Penida. If you are travelling from Bali, you’ll most probably arrive at Toya Pakeh harbour which is several hundred meters away. From either locations or anyway in the island, you can rent a scooter for around RP 80,000 per day. Coming in a big group? You can also hire a driver to drive you around for about RP 500,000 to RP 600,000. Staying in Bali but still want to do a day trip to Nusa Penida? Fret not, as there are also tour package available which includes return speedboat to Nusa Penida, driver and guide as well as hotel pick up and drop off. This can be easily arranged through your hotel in Bali. 

Even though Nusa Penida is huge, the roads are generally narrow and rocky, making the journey by car not any much faster than riding a scooter. Every attractions on the island is 40-60 minutes away, but exploring the island with a scooter would still be my most recommended option.

Click HERE for A Complete Guide To Planning Your Trip To Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida.

Best Time to Visit

Every time of the day is probably a good time to visit Kelingking Beach. However, the sun position in the early morning might potentially cast some shadow in your photos since the cliff faces west. Afternoon is probably the best time to visit this place as this place is ideal for sunset. I’d suggest going to Broken Beach and Angel’s Billabong first before coming to Kelingking Beach in the late afternoon. If you are going down to the beach, expect to spend about 2 to 3 hours here as the hike would have already take you 1 and a half hour. Try not to stay at the beach after the sun has set, as the way up is not lit, and it could be too dangerous trying to climb back up in the dark. 

Epilogue

Kelingking Beach is the reason why I was so dying to travel all the way to Nusa Penida, to the extent of cutting short the number of days in Bali main island. Despite this being my first Bali trip, sacrificing 2 days out of my 5d4n trip and seeing less than Bali main island paid off.

Hands down my favourite place in Nusa Penida

Kelingking Beach is probably the most beautiful beach in Bali, and even in the whole South East Asia. Not only that the T-rex shape cliff is stunning, hiking down to the beach was an amazing experience. We may have gotten all sweaty from the hike, but there’s a clear sea water right there to cool ourselves down after the sweaty work out. If there’s only one place to visit on Nusa Penida, this has to be it!

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