There’s a road located in the tourist hotspot of Bali that is causing quite the stir online.
Cutting through a cliff face, the 300 metre long road leads to the popular Pandawa Beach at Badung in South Kuta.
Often referred to as a “secret beach” due to its secluded location behind a mountainous area, the beach has seen a recent surge in interest after trending on social media.
A quick scroll on TikTok and Instagram will show several clips of the unique cliff-lined road that leads to the popular beach.
One clip of an aerial shot above the cliff crevice, originally shared by ‘Somethingincredibletook place’ on Instagram, has since gone viral as it shows footage swooping in between the 40m high limestone cliffs.
“This is awesome. Saved to google map immediately,” one person commented.
“This road is incredible,” a second added, with others describing as “insane”.
However, while the construction of the road has received huge praise, some social media users have branded it “dangerous”, arguing the natural rock should not have been tampered with.
“Seems like not a very well thought out idea,” a Reddit user said when it was reported on the platform.
“That’s what I was thinking,” another agreed. “Why not drive on top, then make a short ramp at the end? Seems very ridiculous.”
“Why can’t don’t they just leave it natural? Next a glass elevator at Nusa Penida, a third person wrote, while a fourth said: “Can’t say I love chopping a slice out of the Earth to make a beach a little more convenient.”
Meanwhile, given Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is reportedly home to 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes, others feared what could happen to the road in the instance of such natural disasters.
“That looks like a death trap waiting to happen next earthquake or tsunami,” one person penned, while another concerned user wrote: “Imagine an earthquake hits and [it gets] smushed. I doubt it would, but I’m way too paranoid to go there.”
The road, which reportedly took two years to construct, is nonetheless a massive tourist hotspot that attracts visitors from all over the world.
Social media is flooded with foreigners taking selfies and footage from between the towering cliffs, with one “travelholic” adding she visited the site after seeing pictures of it online.
Meanwhile, the beach itself is equally as popular.
Public access road to Pandawa Beach opened in 2012 and unsurprisingly social media has since played a massive road in boosting in popularity.
According to local tour operator Bali Ogie, it was once a “secret beach” that only locals visited.
“It used to be super difficult to access because it was located within a deep valley and surrounded by all the white stone cliffs,” it states on the website.
“However, since road access opened for public in 2012, it is no longer Bali’s famous hidden beach. It’s actually a really popular spot for all locals and tourists.
“It’s a great addition to all the beautiful white sand beaches in the south. The water is aqua blue and the sand is soft and powdery. It’s no wonder the word got out about this beach.”
Head of Planning and Development of DTW Pantai Pandawa, Wayan Duarta, said that interest in Tanah Barak Beach and Pandawa Beach has soared since December 2022.
He told The Bali Sun the towering cliffs that trail down to the ‘hidden’ beach are becoming ultra-popular online.
There are talks of blocking off the road “so that tourists can walk through and safely admire the geology and take photos”.
According to Travel Triangle, the entrance fee for Pandawa Beach is $1.50 per visitor, while parking charges for cars and scooters are 50 cents and 30 cents respectively.