The island of the gods: Bali’s temples and how to visit them

About The island of the gods: Bali’s temples and how to visit them

By the ULTIMATE Bali Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Bali is a Hindu island in a mostly Muslim country, and its temples are everywhere: in every village, in every rice field, on every headland. The great ones each have their role. Pura Besakih, on the slopes of Mount Agung, is the mother temple. Tanah Lot and Uluwatu are sea temples guarding the coast. Tirta Empul is a holy spring where people come to bathe, and Pura Taman Ayun and Pura Ulun Danu Batur are water temples, part of the subak system that UNESCO lists as the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province.

The sea temples

Pura Tanah Lot stands on a rock just off the shore of Tabanan, cut off by the sea at high tide. Pura Luhur Uluwatu is set at the edge of a sheer cliff at the southern tip of the Bukit, where a Kecak dance is performed at sunset.

The mother temple

Pura Besakih climbs the slopes of Mount Agung, Bali’s highest volcano: a complex of temples on terraces, with the mountain behind.

Go early or late: temples are cooler and quieter at opening time, and the sea temples are most beautiful at sunset.

Water and the subak

UNESCO describes the cultural landscape of Bali as five rice terraces and their water temples, covering 19,500 hectares: the subak, a cooperative system of canals and weirs that dates back to the 9th century. It includes the 18th-century royal water temple of Pura Taman Ayun at Mengwi, and the Supreme Water Temple of Pura Ulun Danu Batur on the edge of Lake Batur. At Tirta Empul, at Tampaksiring, people bathe in the holy spring’s pools.

Visiting with respect

Bali’s provincial guidelines ask visitors to respect the sanctity of temples and sacred symbols and to wear modest, appropriate clothing. Wear a sarong and sash: most of the big temples lend or rent them at the gate. The main inner courtyards are for prayer, so stay out of them unless you are there to worship. Don’t climb sacred trees, shrines or walls, and step around the small offerings, canang sari, on paths and pavements.

Our advice: if you meet a procession, stop and let it pass; a ceremony is not a show.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The island of the gods: Bali’s temples and how to visit them before you go.