A sanctuary for the senses in Nuanu

Bali’s creative city

TABANAN, Bali — Somewhere along the quieter southwestern coast of Bali, I found myself face-to-face with four alpacas named Goose, Pumpkin, Will, and Bob. They were gentle, curious, and eager to be fed, their soft hums a strange but soothing soundtrack to the day. Earlier, I had been surrounded by butterflies in a lush garden teeming with orchids, stick insects, and mantises. Hours before that, I was weaving rattan with local artisans.

This was Nuanu, a place that calls itself a “creative city,” but feels more like an open-air love letter to culture, ecology, and the possibilities of intentional living.

Spanning 44 hectares of tropical land in Tabanan, Nuanu offers more than just beautifully designed villas or sleek real estate investments. It’s a living canvas of spaces dedicated to art, education, wellness and nature. Here, there are no hard lines between work and play, commerce and creativity. And as I discovered during my two-day visit, it’s a place that invites you to slow down, breathe deeply, and look closer.

Rattan roots, illuminated towers

My immersion began at a hands-on rattan workshop, where I joined locals in shaping organic materials into sculptural forms. It was an uncanny crossover – rattan weaving being a tradition deeply rooted in both Filipino and Indonesian culture. While waiting for the artist-in-residence to arrive, I noticed the quiet sense of pride in the room. This wasn’t a performance for tourists, it was a space for transmission, for the gentle passing of craft from hand to hand.

I also had dinner at Nuanu’s Luna Beach Club, gracefully perched on the cliffs of Tabanan’s coastline. Inside, one of Nuanu’s art installations rose out of the landscape like sentinels. The THK Tower, a 30-meter rattan-and-ironwood structure, stood as a monument to the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana – the harmony between people, nature, and the divine. As night fell, the structure lit up from within, its woven skin glowing like a lantern in the forest.

The Earth Sentinels also stood tall and luminous. These are towering sculptures by South African artist Daniel Popper that resemble maternal figures rising from the ground. Designed to symbolize a mother welcoming her children, the installation is both monumental and intimate, inviting quiet reflection about humanity’s connection to the earth. It’s one of Nuanu’s most striking reminders that art here doesn’t just decorate the landscape, it speaks to it.

Later, I followed a winding path through the Aurora Media Park, an immersive nighttime forest trail where lights, lasers and soundscapes guided visitors through a multimedia dreamscape. The trail itself was built around a natural river which Nuanu deliberately preserved, a poetic gesture that echoed throughout the project.

Butterflies and balance

On the second day, we stepped into the Magic Garden, a 3,600-square-meter ecological sanctuary within Nuanu’s Biota Lab. It’s home to over 400 rare plant species, a dedicated butterfly breeding program, and a reforestation project that has planted over 15,000 trees. I had never held a butterfly before. But there, in that garden filled with fluttering life and filtered sunlight, I held one on my palm.

Nuanu’s CEO, Lev Kroll, later shared that sustainability isn’t just a branding exercise, it’s built into the business model. “We’re not eco-warriors,” he said, “but we are committed to keeping 70 percent of this land green. That’s not just about doing good, it’s about long-term value. Bali is loved for its nature. Why destroy what people come here for?”

Their butterfly program is just one example. “Back in the day, this part of Bali had so many butterflies. Now we’re breeding and releasing them weekly – and 20 percent of every landscape project must be natural butterfly habitat,” Kroll said.

“It’s not about KPIs (key performance indicators). It’s about improving this small corner of the world we chose to call home.”

I also encountered a Japanese tea ceremony being held inside Nuanu’s art museum, which was part of a concurrent cultural event. A tea master demonstrated each careful movement before serving us real matcha. It was rich, bitter, earthy. It was a different kind of sensory experience, but one that echoed the rest of the trip: grounded, intentional, beautiful.

The final stop was Lumeira, Nuanu’s social wellness complex. There, guests can soak in petal-filled hot pots, plunge into cold wellness pools, or sweat in the world’s largest wood-fired domed hammam or a steam bath. The dome’s acoustics amplify vibrations and invite stillness. For a moment, it didn’t feel like I was in a spa. It felt like a sacred place for pause.

What makes Nuanu special isn’t just its ambitious architecture or curated art. It’s the way nature, wellness, sustainability and creativity come together to create a place that feels both rooted and aspirational. A neighborhood, a retreat, a future-forward canvas.