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Nearly the whole of west Bali's mountain ridge is conserved as Bali Barat national park ( Taman Nasional Bali Barat ), a 760-square kilometre area of savannah, rainforest, monsoon forest and coastal flats, which supports some 160 species of bird, including the endangered Bali starling , Bali's one true endemic creature. However, only a few trails are open to the public. Anyone who enters Bali Barat has to go with a guide and must also have a permit, both of which need to be arranged through the National Park headquarters (daily 7am-5pm), conveniently located at CEKIK , at the Denpasar-Gilimanuk-Singaraja T-junction, 3km south of Gilimanuk itself. Guides charge Rp65,000 for a two-hour hike, then Rp35,000 per extra hour. Permits costs Rp2500 per person per day. All dark-green Ubung (Denpasar)-Gilimanuk bemos pass the park headquarters, as do all dark-red Singaraja-Gilimanuk bemos; get out at the "Taman Nasional Bali Barat" sign. There are two major trails through the park. If your main interest is birdspotting, you should opt for the Tegal Bunder trek (1-2hr), which takes in the Bali Starling Pre-Release Centre as well as possible sightings of the pinky-brown spotted dove, the black drongo, and the tiny bright-yellow-breasted olive-backed sunbird. The climb up Gunung Klatakan (a 5-6hr round-trip) is the most popular and most strenuous of the Bali Barat hikes, most of it passing through moderately interesting rainforest. You're unlikely to spot much wildlife on this trail, but you should certainly hear the black monkeys and might stumble across a wild boar. The obvious place to stay is the National Park Guest House (under $5) in Cekik; call 0365/61060 Mon-Thurs 7am-2pm, Fri 7-11am, Sat 7am-12.30pm to check availability. The next best options are Pondok Wisata Lestari and Sari guest houses, about 1.5km north of the headquarters on the road into Gilimanuk . There are no warung or food hawkers inside the park (though a soup and noodle cart does set up outside the Cekik park headquarters every day), so you'll need to take your own supplies for the hikes. The nearest restaurant is at Pondok Wisata Lestari.
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