Bali has a wide variety of attractions which offers tourists alternatives to the beach and shopping. One of the parks in Bali is the Butterfly Park in Wanasari. Tabanan is one of the 8 kabupaten (districts ) of Bali and its main town is also called Tabanan. It lies NW of Denpasar along the main road to the port of Gilimanuk and Java. People hate that main road because of its heavy traffic, and take a much quieter route from Kerobokan to Tanah Lot, then crossing the main road at Tabanan, before heading north to the Butterfly Park. The drive takes about an hour from Kuta. This route has gotten more pleasant due to the fact that the road to Canggu has been resurfaced.
The Taman Kupu Kupu (Butterfly Park) is located in the village of Wanasari which is 5kms north of Tabanan. Coming from the Kuta area you will notice the lack of western type convenience stores and the proliferation of babi guling (suckling pig) stalls and sate stands. Stopping off for a local snack is part of visiting Bali. Locals will be willing to stop and chat, expecting nothing more than to interact with another person. Sometimes the food in these little warungs / sate stands can be pleasantly surprising. The museum is located 50 meters off of the road, but is easy to find due to the massive sign outside. The neat grounds and parking lot lead into the souvenir shop and ticket office. These key rings had a bug attached, the perfect gift for those relatives you hate. The cost of admission was 40,000rp.
The entrance to the museum is close to the entrance, so after passing through a couple of doors and a set of hanging chains, you will come to the net covered garden. Immediately you’ll see large yellow and black butterflies fluttering around the dense foliage. Butterfly watching may seem like a strange hobby if you aren’t used to it, these little creatures like to hide and it’s not like walking through the monkey forest. At least a butterfly won’t try to steal your water bottle.
In the center of the garden is a section that contains cages, with a variety of butterflies and insects including this stick insect and leaf insect (those are my scientific terms). Staff will show them to you and point out the interesting ones. The Butterfly Park is a quiet place, sometimes not having many visitors. The gardens contain ponds and a variety of bushes and plants. Its possible to could check the place out in a hour max and be out of there, if you’re not an expert on insects or plants. The Butterfly Park makes an interesting place for a pit-stop on a trip around Bali, especially or the kids. More could be done to add excitement, rather like the educational film shows you find at American National Parks. Driving back to Kuta, its would be possible to visit the temple at Tanah Lot with a short detour. An hour would be enough time to spend ant Tanah Lot.
