The island of Bali, Indonesia has long been one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia. Renowned for its unique Hindu-Balinese religion and culture, this fabled isle attracts visitors from all over the world to marvel at its temples, terraced rice fields and beautiful beaches.

But there is a largely unseen nature to Bali, tropical forests rich in wildlife, grasslands with grazing deer, active volcanoes with steaming fumaroles, wild rivers, waterfalls and remote coastlines where sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs and dolphins dance in the first light of dawn.

Our “Bali’s Hidden Nature” trip will take students to a dozen different ecosystems and natural history features on this legendary island to learn lessons no text book can offer. They will snorkel over coral reefs and raft wild rivers. They will enjoy breakfast on a sampan boat surrounded by playful dolphins, and climb an active volcano under a star-studded sky to watch the glory of sunrise from the summit.

Community service projects will include shoreline clean up efforts to remove plastic bags that are often mistaken as jellyfish and consumed by leatherback turtles, and plastic cigarette lighters that surface-feeding birds like albatross mistake for squid.

Students will visit Bali’s new Green School for first-hand lessons in sustainability. They will see an entire campus built largely of bamboo, the worlds fastest growing and most renewable construction material. They will witness energy being created by an innovative vortex generator that does not harm fish, and learn how human waste is converted to gas to power the school’s cook stoves.

In addition to the natural lessons and green living solutions, students will have ample opportunity to immerse themselves in Bali’s magical ceremonies and culture. Here on the “Island of the Gods” they will discover how a people can live their lives in balance with the natural world, maintain a distinct culture and high population density yet still protect a rich and largely hidden Nature.