Amed travel guide

For peace and quiet, this area on the east coast, north of Tirtagangga, has much to offer. The drive from Culik via Amed to Lipah Beach is quite spectacular, especially on the return journey, with Gunung Agung forming a magnificent backdrop to the coastal scenery. Numerous coves and headlands, with colourful fishing boats, complete the vista and offer endless possibilities for walks and picnics. The area became popular because of the good snorkelling and diving available here, the reef is just 10 m from the beach with some good coral and a variety of fish. Amed is developing slowly with new guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and dive centres opening every year, some with spectacular hillside locations and stunning views of Gunung Agung. At present much of the accommodation lies beyond Amed on the stretch from Jemeluk to Bunutan.

The area called Amed is in fact a 15 km stretch from Culik to Selang village, encom- passing the villages of Amed, Cemeluk (also spelt Jemeluk), Bunutan and Selang. At present the first accommodation you come to is 5.7 km from Culik. If you go during the dry season you can watch the local men making salt; they also work year round as fishermen, setting off at 0500 and returning about 1000, and then going out again at 1500. It is possible to go out with them. As there is no irrigation system, farming is mainly done in the wet season when the men raise crops of peanuts, corn, pumpkin and beans, on the steeply sloping hillside inland from the road, to sell in the market at Amlapura. In dry spells, all the water needed for the crops is carried by the women up the steep slope, three times a day; a back-breaking chore. Most of the land is communally owned by the local Banjar.