Spot great flocks of large, white herons (known locally as kokokan) sailing the sky and roosting for the night in a cluster of tall palm and bunut trees, before flying off north in the early morning light. The locals consider these egrets sacred, and it is forbidden to disturb their roost during the night. The herons made their first sudden appearance in 1966, a month after Bali’s sacrificial and ceremonial petition during the infamous communist genocide that took place across Indonesia. Locals believe the spirits of the sacrificed are reincarnated as these herons and twice a year, the Petulu people perform ceremonies for these birds.

Birdwatchers should make a point of visiting the renowned Petulu heronry north of Ubud, where each late-afternoon from April to October the extraordinary spectacle of thousands of herons and egrets returning to their nests may be observed.