Pura Besakih

Besakih is the pura kahyangan jagat of Bali, the mother temple, a complex of twenty-three separate temples on terraces climbing the southern flank of Mount Agung, with Pura Penataran Agung the largest and the ceremonial centre. Its origins go back at least a thousand years and probably onto much older ground. The event most often told about it is the 1963 eruption of Agung: the temple was preparing Eka Dasa Rudra, the great purification held once a century, when the volcano began erupting; the ceremonies went ahead, lava flowed down the mountain, passed within metres of the complex and destroyed villages beyond, and the temple survived - read by Balinese as a sign, and by geologists as topography. A large 2020s redevelopment added parking structures and changed the approach.

History

The temple's importance as a holy site almost certainly goes back to prehistoric times: the stone bases of Pura Penataran Agung and several other temples resemble megalithic stepped pyramids at least 2,000 years old. It was certainly a Hindu place of worship from 1284, when the first Javanese conquerors settled in Bali, and by the 15th century it had become a state temple of the Gelgel dynasty (Wikipedia, Besakih Temple).

What you'll find

• Twenty-three temples on terraces - the complex climbing the flank of Agung.
• Pura Penataran Agung - the largest and ceremonial centre of the group.
• The 1963 lava track - the flow that passed the complex and destroyed villages below.
• A redeveloped approach - the recent parking and access works below the temple.

When to go

April to October; ceremony days are crowded but are the temple at work. Half a day.

What to expect

Guide touting here has a long and bad reputation - fix terms before accepting anyone, and note official guides now operate. Inner courtyards are closed to non-worshippers. Sarongs are required.

Nearby

Sidemen valley is south; Agung rises directly above.

Key facts