Bali District > BULELENG .

Singaraja is the regency seat of Buleleng, Bali , Indonesia . From the highest point on the mountain pass, 1,220 meters above sea level, a spectacular descent brings you to the northern coast at Singaraja, capital of Buleleng regency. Buleleng is a strip of land that stretches along the whole northern coast of Bali-open to the sheltered waters of the Java Sea , and bordering on most of the other regencies. Archaic types of social organization and antiquities are found in many villages that are mentioned in inscriptions dating from the 10th century onward. The inscriptions also tell of pirate raids. The name is Indonesian for 'Lion King' and also in Tamil. It is on the north coast just east of Lovina.

Singaraja was the Dutch capital for all of Nusa Tenggara during colonial times, and the port of arrival for most visitors until development of the Bukit Peninsula area in the south.. Today it's a main cattle export center and a coffee-growing district; Indian corn and oranges are also grown in this area. Many ethnic groups live in Singaraja, a blending of Islamic, European, Indonesian, and Chinese customs and cultures. There's still much 18th Century colonial architecture around. A city of tree-lined avenues, a wide market street, a square with rows of Chinese shops, and horse drawn dokar everywhere; prettier, quieter and cleaner than Denpasar. Delicate orchids are sold in the market, also the island's best, richest, stinkiest durian. It's amazing the way the prices go down the further you move north.

Longer exposed to European influence than other parts of Bali , Singaraja has often been in the forefront of changes in the arts, fashion (wearing the kebaya began here), and political and social movements.

As an important shipping center, Singaraja has a cosmopolitan flavor about it. The population of 15,000 comprises many ethnic and religious groups. It is not unusual to see an Islamic procession pass before a Chinese temple flanked by office buildings of European design. Residential sections of the town are named after such immigrant groups as the Bugis of Sulawesi, the Javanese and the Chinese. After the bustle of Denpasar, Singaraja seems subdued, no longer a leader amongst Balinese towns. A legacy from Dutch times, however, is its continuing importance as an educational center.

The city also houses a historical library, the Gedong Kirtya, which is the storehouse of Balinese manuscripts, totaling some 3,000. Lontar books-leaves of the lontar palm cut in strips and preserved between two pieces of precious wood contain literature, mythology, historical chronicles and religious treatises, some works relatively new, others almost a millennium old. Miniature pictures, incised on the leaves with an iron stylus, are masterpieces in the art of illustration. Prasastis, metal plates inscribed with royal edicts of the early Pejeng-Bedulu dynasty, are among the earliest written documents found in Bali .

Buleleng is the island's chief coffee growing area. Freighters anchored off the harbor load this cargo for export to Europe and the Orient. The climate here is drier than in the south. Rather than rice, the fields yield Indian corn, oranges and crops of dry agriculture. The following temples of North Bali are located near Singaraja. If there is time, a pleasant drive further east between stately colonnades of trees leads to Yeh Sanih, a shimmering pool of blue green, flowing from underground springs. The clear waters have been enclosed to make a most refreshing place to swim. All along the northern shore are sea temples.

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