At 1,142 metres, inside a dormant volcanic crater in Bedugul, Handara Golf & Resort Bali sits surrounded by forest that has held this ground for generations — none of it by accident, none of it self-sustaining. Every tree standing here is the result of something planted, and something tended.
That is where Adopt a Tree, part of the Handara Green project, begins.
Adopting a tree is a simple act with a long reach, it is a small contribution to mother earth. You choose to plant a seedling and Handara does the rest. Your tree is assigned a species and a location based on what the land needs and what is available that season, and it goes into the ground within the resort’s own grounds, on the course, or along the main road that welcomes every guest who arrives.
In return, you are given a certificate of adoption and a name plate set beside your seedling — a quiet marker that this tree, on this mountain, carries your name.
It is a modest gesture. It is also, over the years a tree takes to grow, a lasting one.
Why It Matters at This Altitude
Highland forest does more work than it’s usually given credit for. At Bedugul’s elevation, trees anchor volcanic soil against erosion, moderate the microclimate that keeps this crater cool and cloud-wrapped, and support the agriculture and watershed that have sustained this region long before Handara existed.
But the balance this landscape depends on isn’t held by trees alone. The fairway plays its own part. Turf grass is porous by nature — it gives rainwater somewhere to go, absorbing it into the ground instead of letting it run off the slopes the way bare or paved land would. Trees anchor the soil and break the wind. The fairway absorbs the water. Each does what the other can’t.
Every seedling planted here, then, isn’t a gesture made alongside the golf course — it’s one made in concert with it: a small act against climate change, a contribution to an ecosystem where forest and fairway each carry half the work, and an investment in what the next generation inherits.
Planting slowly, at altitude, in volcanic soil, isn’t the fastest way to grow a forest. It’s the way that lasts.
Choose Where Your Tree Stands
Resort Area & Main Road — IDR 1,500,000++ Your tree is planted where guests arrive and where they return — visible, central, part of the first and last impression of Handara. This tier includes a farm-to-table menu for two at Orient Nine Teahouse and Restaurant, built from vegetables and herbs grown in Handara’s own gardens, valid for one month from the date of adoption.
On Course — IDR 750,000++ Your tree takes its place along the fairways of Handara’s championship golf course, set against the crater walls that ring every hole.
(Rates subject to government tax and service charge.)
Trees of the Mountain
Every adopted tree is one of three species, assigned by the resort according to availability and site:
- Cemara Lilin (Cupressus sempervirens) — an upright cypress that stands like a green column against the crater’s slopes
- Sepathodea (Spathodea campanulata) — the African tulip tree, its canopy breaking into orange flowers each wet season
- Pucuk Merah (Syzygium oleana) — new leaves that open a deep red before settling into green, so the tree changes with the season
A Gift That Keeps Growing
Adopt a Tree makes an unusual gift — for an anniversary, a birthday, a wedding, or simply a way of marking a visit to Handara that meant something. Unlike most gifts, this one grows. Come back in a few years, and you may find your tree taller than you left it, still carrying your name plate, still standing in the mountain air.
Every rupiah from the program goes directly toward the Adopt a Tree initiative and the wider Handara Green project — plant nurseries, ongoing care, and the continued reforestation of the crater.
To adopt a tree, enquire at the Front Desk or with your Golf Host, or follow @handaragiveback for updates on the Handara Green project.
