AYANA Resort and Spa, BALI, the luxury destination resort set on its own 225-acre oceanfront estate, offers guests the unique opportunity to take part in an age-old local tradition, the "Day of Silence" in observation of Nyepi, one of the most important days of the Balinese calendar, with a special two-night Nyepi Package.
This one-of-a-kind, 24-hour purification ceremony (which lasts this year from 6 a.m. on Saturday, March 17 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 18, 2018) entails all of the inhabitants of Bali observing complete silence during a ritual known as the Catur Brata Penyepian, or "Four Nyepi Prohibitions." For one whole day, all lights are forbidden, the airport comes to a standstill (with no flights allowed in or out), shops close, machinery and vehicle usage is banned, no work is allowed, and people across the island are forbidden to leave their homes or hotels. The origin of the "Day of Silence" is the traditional belief that demons who inhabit Bali can be fooled away from the island if they believe that Bali has been abandoned.
As the rules are slightly more relaxed for tourists and AYANA Resort and Spa BALI, The Villas at AYANA and RIMBA Jimbaran BALI by AYANA are among the only resorts on the island that can offer traditional cultural activities while still operating many of their facilities during Nyepi, guests at the resorts can experience the best of both worlds. Throughout "Silent Day," the resorts minimize lighting and power and keep noise to a minimum, but still operate most of their 19 restaurants and bars, pools and spa for guests.
The two-night Nyepi Package at AYANA begins on Nyepi Eve, when guests, clad in complimentary T-shirts and sarongs (plus Udeng ceremonial headdresses for men), can take part in the resort's Ogoh Ogoh Festival, a ceremony that involves parading giant papier-mâché monsters around the grounds. The ceremony is followed by a buffet feast at Kampoeng Bali. The package also includes: a two-hour Aquatonic Seawater Therapy Pool treatment for two guests; a "Star Gazing and Grazing" desert-style picnic served on the RIMBA Lawn beneath a blanket of stars above the completely dark island; daily breakfast; and roundtrip airport transfers.
"The energy radiating over the island is almost hard to describe," says Lindsay Grace Kinniburgh, Director of PR and Marketing Communications for AYANA Resort & Spa BALI. "There is a great sense of peace everywhere, a notable calmness throughout the day, while come nightfall, the stars light up the entire sky. It truly is the best time to be in Bali."
For more information on the Nyepi Package at each of the different resorts, please go to AYANA Resort and Spa, BALI, RIMBA Jimbaran BALI by AYANA and The Villas at AYANA.
