According to some people the town of Lovina, (which is actually a conglomeration of the villages of Pemaron, Tukad Mungga, Anturan, Kalibukbuk, Kaliasem, Temukus and Banyualit) got its name after the last king of Buleleng, Pandji Tisna (1908-1978), named his holiday home ‘Lovina’ back in 1958. Some say the name means ‘the love in the heart of people’, others say it means ‘Love Indonesia’.
The north coast of Bali offers a whole region to explore, that even someone like myself, who lives in Bali, is not that familiar with. I’m thinking of getting up there soon and checking out the internet connectivity and cool stuff going on.
Lovina will take you about 3.5 hours to get to from Kuta, and you have a choice of routes. Route #1 is via Mengwi, then driving straight north, to the west of Ubud and up to Bedugal. This route will give you a chance to check out the lake and stop just before it for some corn on the cob, sold from the roadside market, by ladies carrying them in baskets on their heads.
After Bedugal you pass the Botanical Gardens, in Candikuning and the famous waterfall at Gitgit. You can head straight north to Singaraja, then west about 6kms to Lovina.
Route #2 is same as the first, except you can take the Munduk road, afterr passing through Candikuning, at Yehketipat. This route gets you off of the main road and takes you around the back of Lake Buyan and Lake Tamblingan, dropping down towards the north coast through Tunduk and Munduk, finally reaching the coastal road at Seririt. Lovina is 10 kms to the east.
Route #3 is via Tabanan, Antosari, Pupuan Seririt, Lovina. This route will take you on a winding course thorugh lovely rice terraces, spending less time on busy straight roads than the first 2 routes. You’ll be looking at 5 hours to Lovina most likely.
