I sit in a chaise lounge on the expansive poolside veranda of The Hanging Gardens of Bali and watch as an afternoon deluge transforms the sunny oasis into something more ethereal. The rainforest takes on a certain beauty in wet weather: raindrops glisten, caught in delicate balance on leaves, petals, and all manner of trees and shrubbery. Mists shroud the thicket of jungle in mystery, brimming with a magic as primal as nature itself. The fog comes rolling in, and an amorous aura wraps its arms around the forest, gently embracing the resort. This award-winning resort is a multi-faceted gem in the heart of the Payangan Jungle, in the Gianyar Regency of Bali, Indonesia. Steeped in romance, it is also imbued with a sense of spirituality. A small wonder, given its serene setting, and the fact that it is a mere 11 kilometers north from the town of Ubud, a seat of religious ceremony and faith in the Island of Gods, Bali’s mystical moniker.

The rain passes, taking my musings with it. The sun once more breaks through billowing clouds which reflect on the waters of the property’s “Best in the World” two-tiered swimming pool. The Hanging Gardens Temple, for which this luxury resort in Bali is named, comes into view, in its seemingly precarious perch on verdant cliffs just opposite from the facility. I am overcome with a deep sense of gratitude. This is the stuff of which the sweetest dreams are made – and I am blessed beyond belief to be here.

IN AWE OF NATURE
The next day is sunnier than the previous one. “Good morning, Madam! Beautiful day, today,” says the operator of the bamboo-and-glass funicular, as we ascend from the luxurious abode that is our villa – one of 44 well-appointed suites on the property – to the breakfast area. “The sun is shining very freshly from nature,” he adds, in more-than-slightly accented English. I assume he means very brightly; then again, I look around at the pure, unspoilt lushness of my surroundings and concede that “freshly” works, too. Nature reigns supreme here, and the resort co-exists in perfect harmony with its surroundings. As far as authentic experiences go, this one-of-a-kind nature retreat is as amazing, regal, and real as it gets.

As I delight in my delicious, healthy quinoa breakfast bowl, it comes to my mind that while the resort bears the name of the sacred grounds directly across from it, the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon are likewise a fitting comparison. Though the existence of the multi-tiered, much-storied garden from antiquity has not been definitely verified, literary accounts have long hailed it as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I imagine that the fresh, vivid, verdant 3.2-hectare parcel of land on which the Hanging Gardens of Bali is ensconced is comparable to the epic lushness and purported breathtaking beauty of its possibly mythical counterpart. With thousands of species of flora and fauna that are part and parcel of a healthy ecosystem, nature is both revealed and revered in this paradise in the jungle.

“We offer this resort as a place to recharge. In a world that is full of busy-ness, you hardly get places like this that offer tranquility,” shares the gracious and beauteous Fitri Peretz, one of The Hanging Gardens’ founders and owners. “It’s very, very difficult to find a place that offers this kind of peaceful atmosphere. There is a soul that you feel, even as you step into the resort. You feel it; you cannot even describe it in words. And one of the reasons you feel it is because we built it with love. The resort is like our baby. But we also built it because of our love for nature.”