Returning Travellers Walk for Hours Through Forests to Reach Gilimanuk Port
Severe traffic congestion blocking the route to Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana, Bali, has left returning travellers in despair. Many have abandoned their vehicles and walked for hours to navigate through the congestion, including traversing the Hutan Cekik (Cekik Forest) area.
One such traveller was Pablo, a migrant from Kelurahan Jimbaran, Kecamatan Kuta Selatan, Badung, who recounted his journey back to his hometown of Batu, East Java.
Pablo initially departed by private car with four siblings on Monday, 16 March 2026 at 20:00 local time. They encountered heavy traffic towards Gilimanuk Port upon entering Tabanan.
“We hit traffic in the Melaya area around 23:00,” said the 31-year-old man when interviewed on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
As their vehicle made no progress for an extended period, Pablo and his brother Candra (26) made a desperate decision. They abandoned the car before entering the forest area around 04:00 and walked towards Gilimanuk Port, whilst two other siblings remained with the vehicle.
“I walked from 4 in the morning through the Cekik Forest area. I stopped occasionally for coffee at the various makeshift roadside vendors along the route,” Pablo explained.
However, Pablo surrendered after three hours of walking and accepted a motorcycle taxi offer commonly available along the roadside.
“By 7 in the morning, I was offered a motorbike taxi after walking about 3-4 kilometres. I negotiated the fare from 100,000 rupiah down to 50,000 rupiah per person. So for two of us, we paid 100,000 rupiah total,” Pablo added.
By Tuesday afternoon at 13:00, Pablo’s private car remained stuck in the forest queue, whilst he had already reached the vicinity of Gilimanuk Port.
This walking phenomenon was not unique to Pablo. He observed many other returning travellers doing the same. Some had even walked over a dozen kilometres after running out of money.
“Earlier, someone missed their bus,” Pablo recounted. “A traveller from Sumbersari, Melaya, fell asleep at a warung and the bus reached the port without him. Having run out of money, he walked to the port—about 12 kilometres.”
Panji, a traveller from Jember, East Java, who had used a travel service, faced similar circumstances. He chose to abandon the queue and walk to the port out of frustration.
“I’m exhausted. I’ve been walking for over an hour now. Still just forest, haven’t reached Gilimanuk yet,” Panji complained whilst continuing to walk.
On the ground, thousands of vehicles remained backed up towards Gilimanuk Port’s entrance. Scorching heat and queue durations exceeding twelve hours have presented enormous challenges for this year’s returning travellers.