Bali Temples Guide

Bali Attractions

Many claim that there are actually more temples than homes in Bali. Strictly speaking, many temples are really shrines but the number of religious compounds in Bali is said to be over 10,000.
Normally peaceful and uninhabited, Bali’s temples transform into scenes of great activity and are ornately decorated during festivals with traditional dance performances, cockfighting and gambling. You’ll find that each of Bali’s temples is facing towards the mountains, the sea or sunrise.

Besakih Temple

Over a thousand years old, Besakih Temple is known as the "Mother Temple of Bali". Perched on the slopes of Mount Agung, at a lofty 1,000 metres (3,000 feet) Besakih is the biggest and holiest of all the Balinese temples. Named after the Dragon God believed to inhabit the mountain, it's said to be the only temple where a Hindu of any caste can worship.
Eighteen separate sanctuaries belonging to different regencies and caste groups surround the three main temples dedicated to Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. To the Balinese, visiting the temple sanctuaries is a special pilgrimage. The mountain top setting gives it a mystical quality. Steps ascend through split gates to the main courtyard where the Trinity shrines, dedicated to Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, are wrapped in cloth and decorated with flower offerings. There are a number of temples but many of their inner courtyards are closed to visitors. If travelling on your own, try reach Pura Besakih before 09:00, when many tourist buses start to arrive, so that you can take in the lovely temple in the quiet Balinese morning.

Location: Mount Agung

Elephant Cave

Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave (allegedly derived from the name Lwa Gajah – originally meaning elephant waters) is one of the most historical sites in Bali and was developed in the 11th century, on the western edge of Bedulu Village only six kilometres out of central Ubud. The entire site of Goa Gajah was partially destroyed by natural disaster and lay undetected for centuries before being rediscovered by a team of Dutch archaeologists in 1923.
Goa Gajah is a place to meditate and worship the spiritual essence of the site, Lord Ganesha - the Hindu God of knowledge and wisdom who is characterised as an entity by his elephant head and four arms. Surrounding the site, you can find two traditional bathing pools, some artefacts and statues, and the cave itself, which is decorated with stone relief work showing a demonic face with an open fanged mouth that reveals the entrance.

Location: On the western edge of Bedulu Village only six kilometres out of central Ubud

Garuda Wisnu Kencana Monument

Prior to its recent incarnation, the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (commonly known as GWK) monument was an abandoned limestone excavation which was no longer used by locals. Today the GWK can be compared to Thailand's Sleeping Buddha or the Giant Buddha in Hong Kong.
Aside from the beautifully carved limestone cliff surrounding the monument, GWK also has various facilities, from restaurants to an amphitheatre where occasional performances take place. Please make sure to visit GWK at dusk to catch its dramatic panorama when the sunset cuts through the limestone carved wall.

Location: BukitPeninsula, at the southern end of Bali. Between Uluwatu and Nusa Dua

Goa Lawah Temple

Not for the faint-hearted. The Goa Lawah Temple is located in a cave filled with thousands of bats and is said to lead all the way to Besakih. Goa Lawah is one of six temples open to the public and is revered as a sacred site for Brahma. Located on the sputhr east coast.

Location: Candidasa

Gunung Kawi

Gunung Kawi (meaning ‘carving in the mount’) is a 10th century Hindu temple complex located in the Gianyar regency. To explore the entire site, descend the 300-step stone stairway leading to a beautiful valley where you will find ten seven-metre-high memorials carved into the rock face.
Four can be found on the west side and five on the east side of the river, while to the south across the valley lies another. According to legend, these ruined temples are the memorial shrines of the king's concubines and his family. These days, Gunung Kawi sanctuary is still used for ritual ceremonies and locals gather periodically to offer the usual gifts and to pay homage to God, the ancient king, and his family.

Location: Tampaksiring north east of Ubud

Pura Blanjong

Pura Blanjong was built as a cenotaph of Sri Kesari Warmadewa and commemorates his journey to the east. Sri Kesari himself was a Syailendra descendant (a Buddhist-ruled dynasty which ruled Java) and the founder of an architectural wonder, Borobudur Temple. According to the Blanjong inscription dated 914 A.D. Sri Kesari was a Buddhist apostle who soon established a Mahayana convent at Blanjong village. Along with the inscription, 15 metres northwest, is a Ganesha statue (the elephant-headed son of Shiva). Pura Blanjong is characterised by its coral instead of brick wall and twin sitting calf statues inside, sadly from which both heads have been removed. Apart from being one of the most sacred temples, Pura Blanjong shows you things of architectural and archeological interest.

Location: Sanur Beach

 

Pura Penataran Sasih

Pura Penataran Sasih is situated six kilometres northwest of Gianyar and two kilometres north of Pejeng. It is also known as ‘The Moon Temple’ and derived its name from an ancient bronze kettle drum (or nekara) called ‘Moon of Pejeng’ which is now kept in its inner chamber. It is the largest bronze kettle in Southeast Asia at about two metres in length and allegedly dates from 300 BC. The design is associated with the Dong Son culture of Southern China and Northern Vietnam of around 1500 BC. This highly valued and ornate gong is in the shape of an hourglass and is beautifully engraved: it is regarded as Indonesia’s most important Bronze-Age antique.

Location: East of Ubud in Gianyar Regency

Pura Petitenget

Although Pura Petitenget (found at the T-junction on Jalan Petitenget) is not as big and as popular as Bali’s other major temples of Pura Besakih, Pura Uluwatu and Pura Ulun Danu, it is famous for its legend. This temple is believed by Hindus to be one of nine pillars known as 'Kayangan Jagat', temples of nine wind eyes built in the 11th Century by Empu Kuturan (a Javanese Sage) who came to Bali bringing religious law and the formation of traditional villages.
The nine eyes are also believed to protect the island from southward threats through their intricate positioning. Another story relates that Pura Petitenget is known as the Temple of the Secret Box – a name inherited when a holy man from Java arrived in Bali intending to teach the Balinese community about good manners. He brought a box and accidentally left it behind when he returned to Java. The Balinese people, in fearfulness of the holy man, dared neither to touch nor open it, and so decided to build a temple around it. It’s your choice to either believe it or not, but be sure to stop by this temple on special occasions and holy days: you’ll witness a spectacular ceremony here.

Location: Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak

Pura Samuan Tiga

Samuan Tiga Temple is strategically located set back a little from the main road between Ubud and Tampaksiring, and used to be one of the most popular tourist destinations. This sacred temple was the royal temple of the Udayana Warmadewa dynasty (a Balinese King who ruled in the 10th century). Samuan Tiga means three (tiga) meetings (samuan) and the temple is assumed to be the venue for the great meeting between Gods, deities and saints. Pura Samuan Tiga offers unique architecture and a stunning view, flanked by two rivers, the Pande and Tegending, on the east side and the remains of an ancient pool on the west side, with sacred Banyan, Pule and Curiga trees growing around the site. The temple has seven courtyards separated by walls and split gates, but connected by stairs leading up to the innermost courtyard, believed to be the meeting hall of three holy spirits.
This stunning architecture and history provides the annual stage for the oldest Balinese Hindu ritual. Siat Sampian (Sampian War) takes place during the 10th full moon (in Balinese called Purnama Kadasa, it falls every April) and normally lasts from 06:00 to approximately 13:00. The 'war' is performed by over 200 males and dozens of females, who attack each other using young-coconut leaf arrangements called sampian. Make sure you don’t miss this unique amazing ritual while you’re here for holiday in April.

Location: Between Ubud and Tampaksiring

Pura Tirta Empul

The name 'Tirta Empul' refers to a crystal-clear stream which is used as holy water for various religious ceremonies. Legend has it that the God Indra, to revive his forces who had been poisoned by Mayadanawa (a powerful evil King from Blingkang, a region north of Lake Batur), created this sacred spring.
Entering the main courtyard, the only spot tourists are allowed to enter, you can enjoy the exquisite twin shrines and split gate. Inside the inner sanctum, you can see a number of rectangular bathing pools where for more than 1,000 years the Balinese have come to bathe for healing and spiritual merit.

Location: Tampak Siring, between Ubud and Kintamani

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

No less stunning is the mountain resort of Bratan, in Bedugul, and the magnificent Ulun Danu, an inspiring place of worship that appears to rise out of waters of Lake Bratan.

Location: Bedugul, central highlands of Bali

Taman Ayun Temple

Very distinctive pagodas symbolising the sacred mountain Mahameru, residence of the Supreme God surrounded by a moat in this lovely temple in Mengwi.
Originally dated from 1634, Taman Ayun has been restored and enlarged in 1937. On its festival day (odalan) hundreds of women come into the temple bringing colorful offerings, which they place together in front of the merus.

Location: Mengwi, north west of Denpasar

Tanah Lot Temple

The royal Taman Ayun temple was built by one of the last priests to come to Bali from Java in the 16th century. The temple stands on top of a huge rock, surrounded by the sea and is one of Bali's most important sea temples. Tanah Lot pays homage to the guardian spirits of the sea.
Ancient rituals pay homage to the guardian spirits of the sea. Poisonous sea snakes found in the caves at the base of the rocky island are believed to be guardians of the temple, standing virgil against evil spirits and intruders.
The best time to see Tanah Lot is in the late afternoon when the temple is in silhouette.

Location: Tanah Lot

Temples in Kuta Beach

Kuta does not have a popular main temple to visit, but sprinkled along the main road you can find regular temples worth a peek at during your holiday here. Positioned on Jalan Pantai Kuta you’ll find Pura Batu Bolong; on Kuta Sidewalk is Pura Penataran; and on Kuta Beach a few metres east from the main gate is Pura Kalangan Majelangu. Every morning and late afternoon right after sunset, the Balinese who live in the neighbourhood come here to pray and present offerings.
The temple is busy only on special occasions during holy days and ceremonies such as Melasti: three or four days prior to Nyepi (the day of silence that falls on Bali’s Lunar New Year), the Balinese gather to send prayers and offerings to Sanghyang Widhi/Vishnu-Devas-Bataras on the beach to respect them as the owners of the land and sea.
Location: Kuta Beach

Uluwatu Temple

Bali's most spectacular temples located high on a cliff top at the edge of a plateau 250 feet above the waves of the Indian Ocean.
Dedicated to the spirits of the sea, the famous Pura Luhur Uluwatu temple is an architectural wonder in black coral rock, beautifully designed with spectacular views. A popular place to view the sunset.

Location: 45 minutes from Nusa Dua