Handara Golf & Resort Bali

Few golf courses anywhere in the world announce themselves quite like Handara. The gate — a towering split Balinese temple entrance framed by jungle — became one of the most photographed spots in all of Indonesia long before the Instagram era, and the course behind it lives up to the drama. Designed by Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge, and Ronald Fream and opened in 1974, it occupies a dormant volcanic crater in the highlands of north-central Bali, sitting at roughly 1,200 metres above sea level. The elevation means something rare for a tropical island: genuine cool air, morning mist rolling across fairways, and lush green turf that would be impossible closer to the coast.

The layout winds through dense forest and volcanic terrain, with elevation changes and tight, tree-lined corridors that demand precision far more than power. The mountain setting keeps conditions soft and the views dramatic — this is not beach-resort golf but something closer in character to an upland parkland course.

Buleleng regency sits on Bali's quieter northern coast, a world removed from Seminyak and Kuta. The surrounding highlands are home to Hindu temples, coffee plantations, and crater lakes, and Handara has long drawn visitors who want the island's cultural depth alongside their golf — a rare combination that the course, after 50 years, still delivers.