The glorious white-sand beach was deserted except for a smiling waiter bringing a refreshing glass of freshly-squeezed mango juice. Could this really be Bali? Its popular image is of a fading tropical paradise ruined by legions of young surfers, its roads clogged with coaches in search of the last remnants of local culture.

But last weekend at opposite ends of the island, I twice experienced that kind of laid-back luxury (the second time, the waiter was bringing a mixture of pineapple juice, banana and fresh coconut milk). With a little searching, you will find that Bali still has oodles of magical charm unspoilt by mass tourism.

My first stop was the 19,000-hectare West Bali National Park. Until recently, its distance from the tourist centres in the south (four hours along winding roads) and lack of upmarket accommodation has deterred all but a handful of wildlife lovers, divers and backpackers who don't mind roughing it.

The good news for people who require a little more comfort is that the first hotel has now opened. At first glance, Waka Shorea seems nothing special as far as upper-end Asian resorts go. A bungalow with only a shower and no bath or air-conditioning costs £100 a night with breakfast. Nightlife in non-existent. But although the price is hardly justified by the facilities, this is more than made up for by the surroundings.

There is no road to the resort. Visitors are brought in by motorboat unless the sea is very rough, when the choice is a bumpy 20-minute ride on the back of a motorbike or a one-hour walk.

Thirty seconds after leaving my bungalow, I was ambling down a trail engulfed in a cloud of butterflies. Most were white with black tips to their wings but there were occasional splashes of brown, red, orange and blue.

Within half an hour, I had also seen two of the three local species of deer and two types of monkey, and had almost been decapitated by an over-enthusiastic sea eagle. The only prize I missed was the Bali starling, one of the world's most endangered birds - at the last count, only 14 were found living in the wild, all in the national park.

The following morning, it was time to go scuba diving. Manjangan island, widely agreed to be Bali's best dive site, is less than 10 minutes away by boat. Being part of the national park, its coral and marine life have been protected from the cyanide and bombs that have wrecked many other parts of Indonesia. Visibility at 90ft below the surface was well over 100ft, the coral formations were up to 10ft high and the fish numerous and colourful. The snorkelling was also great and a lot cheaper.

While Waka Shorea is the only hotel actually in the park, there are cheaper alternatives just beyond the boundaries of the protected area. Several losmen (Indonesian guesthouses) can be found in Gilimanuk, which is where the informative park headquarters is located. These range from £2.50 a night for a spartan room to about £13 for something a little more comfortable.

At the other end of the scale, the Mimpi Manjangan (which claims to be in the heart of the park but is actually a couple of miles beyond the eastern boundary) has rooms ranging from £76 to £275.

It was impossible to hurry from the national park to my next destination, Bunutan, on the far eastern tip of the island. For starters, the northern coast road is not great, and, for £13 a day, I had not hired the best car on the road.

Also, there were so many distractions in the form of traditional ceremonies. No one minded in Air Sanih that the road was blocked for 20 minutes as a bridal party made its way through the village to the temple. A couple of miles down the road the whole village was on the black-sand beach giving offerings to their local deity. I could only stare in awe at how the women walked with 4ft-high arrangements of fruit, bougainvillea and coconut palms stacked on their heads.

In the seven places I stopped, I met only two other tourists. Clearly, these villagers had not decked themselves up in their finery and built amazingly elaborate wooden models of fish, bulls and other animals on the offchance that a busload of tourists would turn up and give them some money. This was true Balinese culture.

Bunutan is not as remote or deserted as West Bali National Park - there are about four places to stay along the mile-long beach - but its pace of life is as sedate as the rate of evaporation from the ranks of salt pans laid out on the sand. Its lack of development can be measured by the fact that it is still a spa-free zone - now a rarity on Bali (see sidebar).

Again, there is no nightlife, but then you need a clear head to enjoy the best time of day, namely early morning when you can watch the sun rise over the silhouette of Mount Rinjani on the neighbouring island of Lombok while an armada of outrigger canoes return from the night's fishing.

Budget travellers should head for Hidden Paradise, where rooms cost about £30 a night, or Coral View next door, which is a little pricier. The only proper hotel is the Indra Udhyana, which is a little overpriced at up to £110 for a beachfront cottage, although these are spacious enough to pack in a crowd.

You can go trekking among the salt pans and rice terraces or hire a car for half an hour's drive to the water palace at Tirtagangga on the lower slopes of Mount Agung. There, I met a few tourists who had paid 30 pence to splash in the cool mountain spring water, but most of the bathers were Balinese who had just completed a pilgrimage to the local temples.

There are also several traditional villages nearby, although it is worth getting to them early to avoid the tourists who come from their hotels in Candi Dasa to the south.

But however you choose to fill your day, it is worth going back to your bungalow to enjoy the freshly-squeezed juice on the deserted beach as the sun sets. Who said Bali was ruined?

Pamper central

Spas are not quite as ubiquitous as Hindu temples in Bali - yet - but these monuments to undiluted hedonism are being built at such a rapid rate it seems they are not far behind.

With more than 500 body-treatment centres dotted all over an island 140km by 80km, Bali must surely be "pamper central" of south-east Asia, if not the world.

Most are attached to hotels - they are now de rigueur for any resort claiming to be upmarket. But demand is so great that entrepreneurs are setting up stand-alone spas to cash in on tourists' seemingly-inexhaustible desire to have their bodies rubbed, scrubbed, stretched, prodded, steamed, soaked and caressed.

Puri Esthetic (Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai, No 81, Sanur, Bali, 80228, phone +62 361 286 542) is typical of the new breed of spas. Its owner, Lili Herawati, used to run a garment factory. But two years ago she turned it into a treatment centre. "Clothes were so getting so boring, I wanted to do something more fun," she said.

It is almost impossible not to have fun at Puri Esthetic. The most basic treatment offered is an 80-minute massage that combines Balinese, Swedish, Thai, shiatsu and acupressure and costs £30. At the other end of the spectrum, the six-hour Puri Esthetic Luxury will leave you more than £125 out of pocket.

But after any spa session, you feel like a million pounds. The snag is that the feeling wears off as soon as you jump into a swimming pool or the sea, which means the only solution is to go back for even more pampering.

The practicals

Singapore Airlines (0870 6088886) flies Heathrow to Bali return from £595. Royal Brunei has a special offer from Heathrow to Bali via Brunei for £378 return. You need to book by October 31, for departures from November 1 - 30, and all travel must be completed by December 9. Details from Bridge The World (020-7911 0990).

Tour operators organising trips to Bali include:

Asian Journeys (01869 276200, ).

Exodus Travels (020-8675 5550) - a 17-day Java, Bali and Lombok trip costs from £1,340pp including flights, transport and accommodation with breakfast.

Magic of the Orient (01293 537700) - a 5-night stay at the Griya Santrian Hotel in Sanur Beach costs from £677pp including flights and B&B accommodation.

Nomadic Thoughts (020- 7604 4408).

Silverbird (020-8875 9090).

AsiaWorld (08700 799 788).