The Great Bali Trail
Indonesia’s first long-distance trail project
On Foot into the Interior, of the Island of the Gods.
The Great Bali Trail is Indonesia’s first long-distance trekking trail project, spanning 350km as 30 unique stages connecting Balinese villages from sea to summit.
“The GBT” is an ambitious project being developed by idGuides in partnership with local communities, pioneering a sustainable trail tourism model to regenerate Bali’s village economies, heritage and environment, started during the pandemic for the future.
The route links together farmers’ footpaths, remote back-roads, highland forest routes and traditional temple trails, used by the Balinese through the ages.
Join Us to restore Bali’s ancient routes, regenerate fragile ecosystems and traditional knowledge into a modern, sustainable trail economy with a living heritage, before they are lost forever.
A Trail to Transform Lives
Building restorative economies in Bali’s rural ecosystems
…”A purpose of The GBT is to restore Bali’s ancient routes, regenerate fragile ecosystems and capture traditional knowledge as a sustainable rural trail economy with a living heritage, before they are lost forever.”
~ Krystyna Krassowska, Great Bali Trail and idGuides Founder
The Vision is an enduring trail which enables responsible travel on foot, along agreed and verified trails, generating green revenues for village economies and creating modern professional livelihoods in villages – into the future.
The GBT is an ongoing participatory process with local communities to agree, map and verify the route; train Team idGuides community trail guides & leaders; establish GBT village partnerships; set up a GBT association; and agree governing arrangements for common operating standards, revenue-sharing, trail management and stewardship.
Team idGuides
Meet Team idGuides Bali, your village hosts, trail guides, expedition leaders and Great Bali Trail stewards.
Team idGuides is idGuides’ Indonesia-wide professional trail guides and expedition leaders development scheme.
Find out how we are developing The Great Bali Trail
Learn about the idGuides’ four-step process to develop The Trail ~ from Introduction and village engagement, to participatory trail mapping and product development, to Team idGuides Community Trail Guides training, to the first visitors!
About idGuides ~ Trails for People & Planet
DEVELOPMENT & IMPACT DIVISION
Trails for People and Planet
idGuides ~Trails for People and Planet is our development and impact division.
The purpose of our development work is to support local people to build restorative rural economies and modern professional livelihoods through sustainable trail ecotourism, which generates impact finance for conservation, heritage preservation and village development.
Since 2009, we’ve been developing trails, training community trail guides and supporting ecotourism ventures and in amazing places to connect to idGuides clients and other responsible ecotourism markets.
During 2024, idGuides’ development division is being registered as a foundation ~Yayasan idGuides Alam Nusantara, to scale our development, training and impact work for The GBT and beyond.
CONNECTING TO THE MARKET
idGuides Expeditions
idGuides is an established treks & expeditions outfitter and outdoor educator specialising in Indonesia.
idGuides designs and operates immersive community-based and wilderness trail-based journeys, for private clients, schools, companies, DMCs and agents.
Our private treks, journeys, outdoor leadership courses and expeditions enable people to responsibly explore and support Indonesia ~ on foot, by bike and seakayak, making a difference by re-investing revenues back into local environment, heritage and village economies in projects prioritised by the local communities where we visit..
idGuides’ company name is PT. Alam Satria Nusantara. We operate as “idGuides” and maintain a 100% safety record to date.
~ Celebrating 15 years of Transforming Lives on Trail 2009-2024 ~
THE FOUNDER
Meet KK & Team idGuides
The brainchild behind The Great Bali Trail is KK, Krystyna Krassowska, FRGS MSc., British Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Expedition Leader, Outdoor Educator & UESCA Ultrarunning Coach, and dual-professional in expeditions & outdoor education and sustainable development.
With decades leading expeditions and of community-based natural resource management, sustainable livelihoods, climate change, green economy, international development experience under her belt consulting in East Africa, Belize & Indonesia for Danida, DFID, The World Bank, USAID, NGOs and local communities, KK identified the urgent need for enabling communities to connect to markets to sustain conservation-based livelihoods, preserve heritage and to be paid for their ecosystem services as stewards of their local environment.
Recognising the role that growing global demand for adventure ecotourism and trails could play to support comunities and finance conservation, in 2009 KK established the development enterprise “idGuides ~ Trails for People and Planet”, an outdoor educator and expedition outfitter to specialise in adventure ecotourism development and readiness support, specifically targetting communities in high-conservation-value ecosystems to set up, operate and sustain competitive trail ecotourism ventures delivering natural adventures, as a way to support the transition towards low-carbon, green village economies and finance conservation – from trail tourism.
