Let’s get wanderlusted in Kaolin Air Bara Lake! Wait, you have no idea where this is? Alright, let me explain. Kaolin Air Bara Lake is located in Indonesia, specifically in Bangka Island, click me to read Bangka Island blog post. There are many wonderful places in Indonesia apart from Bali and I think those places deserves more worldwide recognition.

After I posted the first photo of myself being in this place on Instagram along with the stories, people started to ask where exactly it is. No wonder, it is definitely the most beautiful lake in Indonesia—based on my opinion, of course. So, these are my guides in going here and I’ll keep it short, I promise.

Location

For the exact place of Kaolin Air Bara Lake, please click me. There are other similar lake in Indonesia, for example there is one in Belitung Island (the neighboring island) but I heard now it’s closed permanently. So, make sure that you got the right flight to go to Bangka Island and not Belitung Island because a lot of people got confused between those two.

History

This lake is not 100% natural, this lake didn’t even exist in the past. I’m not sure in what year this happened even though I have done my research on internet articles. This place used to be mine for kaolin, the white mineral that is useful for making cosmetics, porcelain, ceramic, and many other things. Kaolin mining was good for the people since they have work to earn money but the downside, it polluted the river. Somehow the mining in this location stopped and it just got abandoned. Mother nature was being kind I guess, the place got rained for quite sometimes and the rainwater didn’t get absorbed, it formed into lake water instead. The blue color of the water happens because of the reflection of sunlight to the white bottom of the lake.

Accommodation & Transportation

The nearest accommodation you can find is in Pangkal Pinang, the only city in Bangka Island since it is quite a small island. Unless you can find locals who accept you to stay at their places, that would be good as well. Bangka Island is lacking in public transportation, do not expect you can find Uber or Grab here. Renting car or scooter/motorbike here is possible but you need to have a driving license that is accepted in Indonesia. I think if you have international driving license, that should be fine. I was renting a car including the driver and gasoline as the transportation while I was in Bangka Island for Rp450.000 (US$30) per day.

Tips & Other Things You Should Know

By the time I came, there was no entrance fee to get here. The only thing you have to pay is parking which is only Rp10.000-Rp20.000 (US$1-2)/car and it should be cheaper for the motorbike. I really suggest to come here during the midday. I know it will be the hottest time of the day especially in the tropical country but the stronger the sunlight is, the more beautiful the water color is. So, prepare your sunscreen and sunglasses since it will be scorching hot. There are some small vendors in the parking area in case you need to buy water or snacks. Also, you are not allowed to swim in the lake because the water is allegedly poisonous.

The pictures above were edited without altering any color, the water and soil are in the exact color as seen in real life. All I did was enhancing the contrast, brightness, etc.

Thank you for reading this blog post, I hope you will be able to visit this particular lake and get away from Bali for a while. Please keep in mind that the entrance fee might change.

Luna Rolg

Hi, I’m Luna. Welcome to my blog! You will find helpful travel guides and tips on my blog posts, all are written by me and based on my experience. I hope you enjoy reading my blog posts!
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