Three places you should skate when visiting Bali!

If you travel to Bali and still want more to do despite surfing all day long, we’ve got something for you that will get your adrenaline pumping and keep you cruising! For any skateboarders out there, we have written a blog guiding you to the three top skating spots in Canggu.

1.    Deus

The Temple of Enthusiasm from Deus ex Machina not only offers some of the best live music acts on Sunday nights, it is also your ‘go to’ spot to if you want to skate. At Deus there is a mini ramp that suits everyone’s style. It has a height of 1,5m and is located next to the rice fields behind the Temple of Enhusiasm. On Sunday nights, the late skate jams attract the crowds which makes skating there a really exciting experience.

2.    Pretty Poison

Pretty Poison is one of the most popular underground skate and hangout spots in Canggu. It has an original Californian style skate pool also known as the “dog bowl”. The deep part of the pool is about 7 ½ foot deep whereas the shallow end is about 5 foot. If you don’t feel confident enough to do the drop-in, there are stairs that bring you down to the shallow end. The pool itself is nicely built with two rows of tiles below the coping to give you a realistic pool feeling. The bowl is open every day of the week for skating. There are weekly skate jams, live music and DJs there that attract a lot of people to have a drink and watch the skaters.

3.     Amplitude

The Amplitude is a large skate area in Kerobokan with a fun pump track and skate bowl. The area is filled with rails and obstacles for all levels and spreads over an area of 2000 square meters. The 270cm (in ft) deep skate bowl is only for more experienced skaters. The Skate and Bike Park was designed by Motion Skateboard and Velosolutions and is the first Velosolutions pump track in Indonesia.The Amplitude is open everyday from 7am – 10pm except a few days over the Nyepi Holiday period.

As Pretty Poison and Deus are the better known skate locations in Canggu, we went to Amplitude Skatepark to check it out ourselves. It surprised us as it was something we had never seen before; it was a huge playground for everyone! While spending the whole day in the skatepark, we met Ben, a skater from Los Angeles, CA, who came to skate the Bowl at Amplitude in particular.

Hey Ben, why did you choose to skate at Amplitude instead of Pretty Poison or the mini ramp at Deus?

Ben: I went to Amplitude because I saw the bowl online. I’m incredibly happy I found out about it as it was challenging and fast - get ready for one hell of a waterfall! Throughout my stay I went around 8 or 9 times. If you plan to go numerous times or go with friends, i'd recommend getting the 30 visit plan. The pump track is definitely the highlight of the park and it is perfect for any level of skating or biking.

That’s cool! We totally have to agree with you! The pump track was definitely our highlight as well. It makes the skatepark standout and is something we have never skated before.

We’ve noticed that skateboarding has significantly grown in Canggu in the last couple of years. What do you think makes Canggu special for skateboarding?

Ben: Canggu has two amazing bowls from what I know of, and the weather in Bali is great for skating when it's not raining. Pretty Poison is the other popular skate location. It's more of a backyard style pool in the back of a cool bar. The best time to skate at Pretty Poison is on the nights with a skate jam, it's a really fun experience. I think it's the people that make it special; there are so many surfers and creative people around here.

That’s true! What exactly was your motivation to come to Bali? Did you come here with the goal to skate or is it just something you do when the surf is flat?

Ben: I’m not much of a surfer so I intended to skate in Bali and brought my equipment here. There are a couple of other parks closer to Denpensar that look fun but I didn't manage to skate there. There’s the Globe bowl, Motion, and Donkey Ent.. the latter two are better for small transition/ street.

We talked a lot about the skate locations here in Bali and Amplitude in particular but tell us what, for you, is the most beautiful thing about skateboarding?

Ben: The most beautiful thing about skating is the personal challenge of overcoming fear. Skateboarding is pure innocent fun and helps with many aspects of life. Anyone who has a love for skateboarding is contributing to its progression. I'm so honored to be part of skateboarding and can't wait to see it's growth in Bali and our world.

Thanks Ben! We couldn’t choose any wiser words to finish the interview.

We hope we were able to give you a little insight into skateboarding in Canggu. Next time the surf is flat you know where to go!

Photo Credits Pretty Poison: http://www.bali-interiors.com/pretty-poison