A small crowd of people has formed in front of a temple building on Canggu beach. Not to pray. Those gathered carry white and yellow sacks in their hands. The equipment comes from the organization Trash Hero. She invited people to the beach clean-up in southwest Bali. Two Indonesians, a French couple and a Chinese woman want to take part in the action on Batu Bolong Beach. A German named Sebastian, who, like most of the interviewees, prefers not to have his last name published, explains the task. The yellow bags are intended for recyclable waste, the white ones for residual waste. “We try to collect as much trash as possible every Sunday,” he says.
It's primarily about symbolism, says Sebastian. Beachgoers should see volunteers from all over the world helping with the cleanup. “Maybe they’ll think about not leaving their trash lying around, or they’ll take it to a trash can,” he says. The garbage collectors walk from the Hindu temple towards the holidaymakers who are crowding the beach. The bags fill up quickly. Between men playing soccer and young women taking selfies, volunteers pick up plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cigarette butts.
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Shortly before sunset, when the Balinese make small offerings at their temples, the garbage collectors return. They drag the sacks behind them, leaving traces in the dark lava sand. After all the garbage has been sorted, one of the Indonesians weighs it: 26 kilograms. The yield is therefore slightly lower than on previous weekends. Sebastian says the beach is comparatively clean this time. On other days, additional garbage washes up from the sea. Once Trash Hero even collected 325 kilograms. “You couldn’t find a spot where there wasn’t trash,” says Sebastian.
South Korean ministers complained to the president
During the rainy season, some of the plastic floods are washed onto the beach from mountain villages or even neighboring islands. According to Bali's governor Wayan Koster, 41 percent of the trash comes from hotels, restaurants and cafes. In addition to the amount of garbage, the problem includes gaps in the disposal system, inadequate garbage collection and overflowing landfills. Plastic is burned, ends up on the side of the road or in rivers. Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto publicly criticized the provincial government for the mountains of garbage. South Korean ministers complained to him about how “dirty” the island was.
In addition to the endless traffic jams, garbage is one of the most visible consequences of mass tourism, which brought a record number of almost seven million international visitors to Bali in 2025. The onslaught is putting a strain on nature, infrastructure and social cohesion on the “Island of the Gods”. Most recently, in July, several environmental policy and civil society groups protested for a halt to all new tourism projects. They fear that the charm of Bali with its rice terraces, Hindu spirituality and dream beaches could be lost forever.
How mass tourism is changing Bali can be seen nowhere more clearly than in the village of Canggu. Fences block the view of construction sites, where recently lush green rice fields stretched out. Tourists and locals crowd through the narrow streets on scooters. At a Sunday market near the beach, backpackers, surfers and young digital nomads push past stalls selling essential oils, probiotic drinks and protein smoothies.
Anyone can come, but they should follow the rules
Under palm trees, next to clothing racks and jewelry displays, guests pose for selfies or film short videos for Instagram. An Indian man named Peeyush praises the friendly atmosphere. Another man stands sweating in front of a fan and shakes his head. “This place is terrible for me, there are just too many people,” says 57-year-old Bertrand. Places like Canggu and the Balinese cultural center of Ubud would have looked completely different two years ago. “This is no longer for me,” complains the Frenchman.
The Indonesian Maria Kasa thinks that many places in Bali, the neighboring island of Lombok and the smaller Gili Islands have now become very noisy. The music from the clubs echoes for miles through the night until the early hours of the morning. “I prefer things to be a little quieter,” says the 35-year-old investment banker from the capital Jakarta. Some visitors also don't know how to behave properly. “Some people have no understanding of the local customs,” says Kasa. “If you want to come, you should come – but you have to pay attention to the rules.”
Many locals complain that individual tourists behave disrespectfully towards the Balinese and their culture. There are always cases of tourists traveling topless on scooters, posing naked in holy sites, smearing graffiti on walls or being abusive towards locals. A young Swiss man was recently sentenced to a year in prison for making fun of the Hindu holiday Nyepi in a video. On this “Day of Silence,” shops remain closed and the streets are deserted. The Swiss was upset about the “crazy” effects of the holiday.
The Balinese fear becoming outsiders in their homeland
In another case, an Indonesian woman found that her registration at a running club, unlike that of her foreign husband, had not received a response. The club rejected allegations that it discriminated against Indonesians. The two Dutch founders are now no longer allowed to enter Bali. The story had touched a nerve. Many locals increasingly have the feeling that they are becoming outsiders in their own homeland.
The long-term visitors who have increasingly settled in Bali, especially since the Covid pandemic, are leaving their mark on places like the former fishing village of Canggu. Vegan restaurants can be found there alongside yoga studios and co-working spaces. One of these workspaces is located not far from the market in a new multi-story building with an attached café and fitness studio. Upstairs, several young men are sitting behind their laptops with headphones on their ears.
One of them is 28-year-old Brodie from Perth, who manages real estate projects in Australia, Dubai and Bali from here. In Canggu, in addition to friendly locals, he also finds like-minded people “who work on their laptops and take care of their health.” The misconduct of a few should not reflect badly on others, warns the Australian. Most digital nomads were respectful of Balinese culture. “I’m one of the good ones,” he says.
This year, 342 foreigners have already been deported from the island
For many long-term visitors, however, the question arises at some point as to how they can finance their stay. More and more cases are being reported of foreigners delivering food, organizing events and offering their services as photographers or videographers - jobs that locals could also do. The authorities have set up a task force to detect abuse of visa requirements and illegal business activities. From January to June 2026 alone, 342 foreigners were deported from the island.
Despite the stricter controls, Bali is still the dream destination for many digital nomads. In Canggu, more and more areas are being cleared, foundations are being laid and concrete pillars are being raised. In this way, more and more of the nature that originally made Bali so attractive to visitors is disappearing. Many tourists set off from Canggu with their rental scooters to explore some of the most beautiful places on the island. These include spectacular rice terraces, waterfalls and volcanoes.
One of the most popular destinations is on Nusa Penida, a neighboring island that belongs to the province of Bali. The crossing from the southeast Balinese town of Sanur takes about 40 minutes. From the ferry pier on the island there is a steep and narrow road to a cluttered parking lot. From there a stream of visitors moves up to a rocky slope where the tourists stand so close to a railing that the actual attraction cannot be seen at first. Only when you have squeezed into a gap between the tourists taking photos will you be able to catch a glimpse.
Below the slope, a green rock appears, the shape of which is reminiscent of the head of a T-Rex. The “dinosaur rock” of Nusa Penida has been one of the most popular photo motifs in Bali for a few years. But something is different than before: above the rock, a rusty scaffolding comes into view, which has been attached to the cliff with side struts. A foreign body on the rock, like a metal rail holding a broken arm together from the outside. “The scaffolding is spoiling nature,” said an Italian woman named Claudia when she saw it. “It should be torn down as quickly as possible.”
The glass elevator of Nusa Penida became a symbol
The scaffolding was erected over the past two to three years because a 182-meter-high glass elevator for tourists was to be built on the rock. The elevator should allow visitors to safely travel from the slope to Kelingking Beach below. So far there is only a steep, narrow staircase to the beach, over which the masses of tourists push themselves down and up. But the planned elevator caused outrage last year. Many influencers and numerous residents turned against the construction.
The provincial government also pointed out the lack of approvals for parts of the construction project. Governor Koster ordered the structure to be dismantled and restored to its original condition. Today the scaffolding is still hanging on the rock. A construction crane towers above it. Chinese tourist Li Yuchen says he actually doesn't think the elevator is bad at all. With his shirt soaked through with sweat, he struggles to breathe at the top of the stairs. "I think it's a bit dangerous. So many people on the steps," says the man from Shanghai. “If there was an elevator here, it would be better for a lot of people.” In mid-September, an Australian woman fell to her death on the cliff.
For many international visitors, however, the construction project is a symbol of how Bali's nature is being interfered with. The provincial government is also trying to put a stop to the construction spree. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a formal construction freeze on agricultural land in six districts of the island. No new hotels, villas and commercial entertainment venues are allowed to be built on farmland there. But the construction boom continues unchanged in the other areas. In particular, some of the tourist centers in the south of the island are exempt.
From Nusa Penida we head back to the main island, where a new holiday center is being built in the hills to the southwest. Uluwatu was previously known for its rugged cliffs, white beaches with ideal surfing conditions and the Hindu temple of the same name, which sits majestically on a hillside. Now it is developing into a new Canggu - just a little more expensive, more luxurious and more exclusive. New hotels, villas and restaurants are being built on numerous corners. The raised base of a new ring road leads through the rocky landscape like a huge scar.
Some surfers now call the beach "Bingin Gaza"
Despite the brisk business, there is one beach in Uluwatu that only has a surf school, a few loungers and a small drinks stall. The route to Bingin Beach takes a winding path down a steep cliff. As you descend, instead of restaurants and villas, all you see on the ground are stones, concrete remains and steel struts. There is tons of building rubble just above the beach. Some surfers would only refer to the beach as “Bingin Gaza” because of the rubble landscape, reports a man who comes up the path with his board under his arm.
On the slope lie the remains of former bars, shops and accommodations that fell victim to the wrecking ball a year ago. According to authorities, the buildings were operated without sufficient permits and were partly built on state land. They then decided to demolish the buildings. "It's sad. I grew up here. I went to the beach for the first time when I was five," says surf instructor Agus, standing on the shore in a wetsuit.
The government is now planning to build restaurants and a stage for dance performances, says the surf instructor. But when that will happen is unclear. “Actually, this place should have been cleaned up a long time ago. But everything is still there,” says Agus. Together with some foreigners, the surfers cleaned up parts of the beach. “Because when a big wave comes, everything is swept away and ends up in the sea,” says the Balinese. “There are also metal rods there, which is very dangerous.” Despite the desolate sight, the surfers are lying on their boards in the water and the holidaymakers are tanning in the midday sun.
Local resident Made is also sitting under a parasol, selling drinks from a freezer. According to him, the first tourists from Kuta and Seminyak came to Uluwatu on their scooters in the mid-1980s. Some residents began to set up small snack bars for them - including himself and the parents of the surf instructor Agus. For years, Made had sold fried rice and fried noodles in his so-called warung above the beach. “Now, like many others, I have lost my job,” said the 61-year-old Indonesian.
Among the beach guests is the 35-year-old German René, who stands ankle-deep in the almost crystal-clear sea water. The German reports that he is here for the second time with his wife. For the two of them, Bingin Beach was actually the most beautiful beach they had discovered in Bali. “Two years ago all the buildings were still here.” It was only when the couple arrived at the beach that they noticed that everything had been demolished. The hustle and bustle in Bali has now become a bit too much for the German couple. Of course, tourism benefits the locals. But a lot is being destroyed, says the German. “You would have to find a balance.”
