Bali

Among the thousands of islands of overwhelmingly Muslim Indonesia, one stands apart as a stronghold of Hindu culture and one of the most celebrated travel destinations on Earth. Bali, the Island of the Gods, is a small volcanic island whose terraced rice fields, cliff-top temples and intricate ceremonies have drawn artists, surfers and seekers for a century. Its distinctive blend of dramatic landscape and living spiritual tradition has made its name a global byword for tropical paradise.

Bali covers about 5,780 square kilometres just east of Java, a compact island dominated by a chain of volcanoes. Its highest and most sacred peak is Mount Agung, an active volcano rising about 3,031 metres, whose eruptions punctuate Balinese history and whose slopes the islanders regard as the home of the gods. Volcanic soil and an elaborate, centuries-old irrigation system known as subak, recognised by UNESCO, sustain the emerald rice terraces that cascade down the island's flanks. Coral reefs ring its coasts, and the south coast's beaches and breaks have made Bali a mecca for surfers.

Balinese Hinduism, fused with older animist beliefs, suffuses daily life, expressed in the tens of thousands of temples, the daily offerings of flowers and the dance, music and craft for which the island is renowned. Bali drew Western artists and writers in the early twentieth century who helped fashion its image as an earthly paradise, and tourism has since become the lifeblood of its economy, bringing both prosperity and the strains of overdevelopment. Through it all, the island has guarded its religious and artistic traditions with remarkable tenacity, remaining unmistakably and proudly Balinese.

• Indonesia
  The world's largest archipelago, spanning two oceans located in
• Asia
  Earth's largest and most populous continent located on
• Java
  The world's most populous island, the crowded core of Indonesia neighbouring island