It's known as the Island of the Gods, but that's lost on some Western influencers who like its picturesque temples and landscapes for risque social media content.
Russian yogi influencer Alina Fazleeva and her husband, Andrey, will be deported and barred from entering Indonesia for six months, after Ms Fazleeva offended Balinese Hindus by posting images of herself posing naked on a centuries-old sacred tree.
Known as Kayu Putih, which translates as "white wood", the giant tree behind Babakan Temple in Bali's Tabanan district is believed by locals to be 700 years old.
The image went viral after Niluh Djelantik — a prominent Balinese fashion designer and politician — posted a screenshot asking people to report Alina to immigration authorities and the police.
"She should be responsible for the cost of the cleaning ceremony to be carried out by villagers," Ms Djelantik said.
"Trashy tourist. Go home!" she later posted.
Ms Fazleeva deleted the offensive post and published another photo depicting herself offering prayers while clothed at the same tree.
"I apologise to all the people of Bali and Indonesia. I regret what I have done," she wrote in Indonesian.
"I am so ashamed, I did not mean to offend you in any way, I had no knowledge of this place," she said.
"I just prayed under the tree and went straight to the police station to explain this and apologise."
Despite the apology, Bali's Governor, Wayan Koster, personally ordered her deportation, saying in a statement it was "far important to preserve the culture and respect the dignity of Bali" than tolerate such behaviour for tourist dollars.
Ravinjay Kuckreja researches indigenous religion at the State Hindu University of Denpasar in Bali and hosts the Being Bali podcast on local culture.
He said that, for Balinese Hindus, "sources of water like springs, statues, trees and volcanoes are amongst the many everyday objects that are sanctified and regarded as sacred".
Having one's naked body against a holy tree was thus considered "sacrilege" by Balinese Hindus, who revere large trees as embodying "a divine ogre named Banaspati Raja (lord of the forests)", Mr Kuckreja said.
"The tree is completely sacred ... it is considered a manifestation of God," he said.
The incident came shortly after immigration officials said they would deport a Canadian man who had filmed himself attempting the ceremonial Maori Haka on a volcano worshipped by Balinese Hindus.
Jeffrey Craigen, a self-described "mind body healer", live-streamed himself dancing, naked, on the peak of Mt Batur while proclaiming that stripping naked made him into a "fearless child of God".
Mr Kuckreja said that dancing naked at Mt Batur was considered even worse than posing naked on the tree, because the volcano was "exceptionally sacred" for Balinese Hindus.
Jamaruli Manihuruk, the immigration head in Bali, said locals across the province were urged to "proactively monitor and report various violations committed by foreigners to authorities [so that they can take] strict action".
Neither Ms Fazleeva nor Mr Craigen responded to requests for comment.
Religion and culture a key part of daily life
Such incidents are not new in Bali.
In August 2019 — shortly before the pandemic devastated the local tourism industry — a Czech couple uploaded a video of themselves splashing holy water on intimate body parts during a visit to a Hindu temple complex.
Another video recently circulated on Indonesian social media appears to show a Caucasian man masturbating under a waterfall in Bali.
The island welcomed more than six million international travellers in 2019.
With Indonesia's borders largely closed due to COVID-19 in 2021, however, Bali saw only around 50 foreign tourists for the whole year.
Direct international flights to the island resumed in February 2022 and fully vaccinated travellers are no longer required to quarantine upon arrival.
With life approaching normal and an influx of foreigners to Bali, so returns tourists behaving badly.
"Balinese culture, Balinese ancestral beliefs, and Hinduism, are one in everyday life in Bali," said AA Ngurah Adi Ardhana, a local MP and deputy head of the Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Bali.
He said tourists came to Bali for many reasons and that authorities needed to be prepared for such incidents by educating foreigners about local customs and maintaining the sanctity of holy sites.
"Preventing it is far better than having to repeat it and causing disturbances to this sanctity," Mr Ardhana told the ABC.
Hindus account for some 90 per cent of Bali's population and around 2 per cent of the total population of Indonesia — a Muslim-majority country where religion is fundamental to identity and plays a major role in cultural and political life.
A 2020 Pew survey found 98 per cent of Indonesians said religion was "very important" to their lives, compared to just 18 per cent of people in Australia.
Blasphemy is illegal in Indonesia, with most high-profile cases consisting of a member of a minority religion offending Muslims.
Jakarta's former Christian governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, was controversially jailed in 2017 for supposedly blaspheming Islam.
Mr Kuckreja said that, while Balinese Hindus rarely had the opportunity to claim blasphemy against members of the Muslim community, in the case of foreigners, it was different.
"It's about getting their rights, about getting respect," he said.
Indonesia's Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno, said recently that he was keen to promote traditional culture via "tourism villages" to international visitors in Bali for the G20 conference in November.
Mr Kuckreja said that within Balinese culture, visitors from other parts of Indonesia and from overseas were considered "guests" and thus treated with the island's famous hospitality.
"It becomes really weird when the guest would then do something obscene … It's kind of misusing the hospitality that they are giving to guests."
It is not difficult to identify holy places in Bali, he said, given that trees and other objects were usually adorned with offerings and ceremonial cloth.
"[Tourists] should really understand that they are guests and they don't own everything. Before they want to do something, just ask," Mr Kuckreja said.
"It's just so much more polite to ask, 'Hey, can I hug your tree naked?' and get an appropriate response."
