Besakih Temple Tour

Hours: 08.30 – 18.30 (Full Day Tour)

Visit the renewed temple of Besakih, built on the slope of the mighty and sacred Mount Agung. There were definitely good reasons to erect this temple on exactly this spot. On certain occasions and holy days, this place becomes the center of religious activities. Women climbing the stairs under a heavy burden of fruit and flower offering are then a common sight.

First stop is Kerta Gosa, the Hall of Justice, in the center of modern Klungkung, which dates from the 18^th century. It is an open-sided pendopo pavilion of the type long favored for official buildings in Java. Interesting classical paintings can be viewed on the ceiling, portraying visions of heaven and hell.

Continue up into the mountains, stopping to admire the view from Bukit Jambul over rice terraces with the sea glistening in the distance. Then it’s on to Besakih Temple, 950 meters high on the southwest flank of this mountain. Besakih is “Mother Temple” of Bali and probably originated as a prehistoric sanctuary where offerings were made to the god of Mouth Agung. The complex houses 30 temples made up of 7 levels of terraces in the mountainside. The style is austere, relatively free from the excessive ornamentation of many other Balinese monuments. Its jagged split gate and black meru flowers silhouetted against the misty slope of the mountain are haunting and unforgettable sight.

A stop is made for lunch at a local restaurant at Bukit Jambul.

Back at sea level, visit Tenganan – another isolated village, bypassed by the wave of Hindu conversions hundreds of years ago, retains a lifestyle that dates back to year one. With less than a thousand residents, Tenganan has set up shops to greet the visitors and they purvey a supposedly magical geringsing fabric, believed to prevent harm from befalling the wearer. Drive through the beach resort of Candi Dasa to Kusamba, fishing village where fishing and salt panning are still the villagers’ main livelihood. See the black sand beaches and look out for colorfully painted outrigger canoes.

Your final stop is at eerie Goa Lawah (Bat Cave) where the walls of the cave literally vibrate with thousands of bats. The cave is considered to be holy, with shrines and a temple protecting the entrance.