Besakih Temple

At the foot of the great mountain Gunung Agung lays the most sacred of all the Balinese temples, Pura Besakih. A more suitable location for this huge temple complex would be hard to find. If you are lucky to visit on a clear day you can see Gunung Agung (3.142 m), a background that can give anybody a religious feeling.
There has been a temple here for more than one thousand years, it is first mentioned in an inscription from 1007 BC. Today's role as the "mother temple" were achieved in the 15th century, when Bali became independent from Java and got it's own ruler; Batu Renggong. He ordered the construction of nine temples, of which Besakih was the central one. Since then there has been continuous expansions and Besakih now consists of about 30 different smaller temples.

The largest temple is Pura Penataran Agung, this has a large shrine to honor the holy Hindu trinity Brahma, Wisnu and Shiva. Symbols of this trinity can be found in temples all over Bali. The most important ceremony in Besakih is called Eka Dasa Rudra, which is held once every hundred year according to the Balinese calendar, that is 115 years after our calendar. Last time, in 1963, it had to be cancelled due to a major eruption by Gunung Agung. About 2.000 people lost their lives during this eruption, but miraculously Besakih was almost undamaged. A new ceremony were held in 1979, this time with more success.

The site is open daily, try to visit early in the morning before the mist is too thick. Even if Besakih is huge, the single buildings are not so impressive on their own, and the best experience will probably be during one of the many ceremonies when hundreds of Hindus in lovely traditional cloths and carrying offerings meets to honor the gods. In front of the entrance you will find the usual souvenir stalls, there you can by a sarong or you can rent one by the entrance. Many so-called guides will offer their service, it is perfectly ok to say no, in any case agree about the price in advance. It is no problem to explore the site on your own, but be aware that most of the temples are closed for entrance by none-Hindus.

Besakih is a good starting point to climb to the top of Gunung Agung, and here you can hire a guide for the walk. There is no top standard hotels around Besakih, but you will find some restaurants and simple accommodation.