Tanah Lot has been a common symbol to reflect all of the Bali tourism sites. If you’ve ever seen any pictures of Bali tourism advertisements, then you must have seen Tanah Lot pictures on the ads. You can easily find Tanah Lot pictures in a postcard or a cover of a Balinese tourism magazine. The pictures are about a temple that stands on a big rock with wide sea views in its background.
Tanah Lot is located in Tabanan regency, about 30 kilometers to the west of Denpasar, and only takes about 45 minutes from Denpasar. Tanah Lot is about 45 minutes by car north west of the main southern tourist areas of Kuta. From Ubud it can reached in about 30 to 40 minutes by car.
Once you get to the first entrance gate, you'll have to pay for the ticket. It costs 7,500 rupiahs for domestic visitors and 10,000 rupiahs for foreign visitors. From the parking area, you’ll need to walk to the second gate. Here, you have to show your ticket that you buy in the first gate. After passing the second grade, you'll have to walk pretty far to get to Tanah Lot. You'll see many little shops that sell special Balinese souvenirs like T-shirts, bracelets, necklaces, and sort of things.
From the location of Batu Bolong cliff, you can go back to the intersection and continue your walk to the real Tanah Lot. Tanah Lot comes from the word Tanah and Lot. Tanah means Land (or it can mean rocks), while Lot comes from the word Lod which means Sea. So, literally, Tanah Lot means a rocky land that stands in the middle of the Sea.
The temple that stands on the big rock is sacred. Not all of the people are allowed to get in to the temple. Only Hindu priests or special Hindu people are allowed to get in. Actually, we can't get closer to the temple anytime, because when the tidewater goes up, the water level is higher than the way -that connects the beach to the temple, therefore we can't walk trough it. If we want to get closer to the temple, we should wait for the neap-water to go down, and therefore we can walk through the way.
There are small caves around Tanah Lot where you can see sea-snakes. The sea-snakes are sacred. They're protected by local people. The local people believe that those snakes are the guards sent by Gods to protect the sacred temple, Tanah Lot. They also believe that those snakes can grant our wish to come true.
One more thing that the the local people believe it can grant your wish. It is the holy water. The water source comes from the sea and it flows to the beach through pipes. Although the water source comes from the sea, the water doesn't taste salty. It tastes like regular water, instead. How strange it is. Get some water to wash you face, your hands, and drink some of it if you want. Then make a wish.
The best time to visit Tanah Lot is when the sun is about to go down. Yes, the sunset time. Tanah lot is well-known of its beautiful sunset views. When the sun is about to go down, you'll see the ray of the sun goes through the gaps between the temples and the rocks which gives us the best views of sunset ever. The best place to enjoy the sunset is in the Sunset Terraces. The Sunset terraces are places that are built and arranged so that they look like stairs or terraces. It’s built that way to make visitors see the sunset more clearly.
There are large number of restaurants along the cliff top which offer great views but less great food. The best advice here would be to order a drink, get your fill of the views and photo-ops, and eat elsewhere.
A drive back to Kuta in the evening after sunset will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic.
2. Uluwatu - Temple of magnificent height (Rp 3,000)
Pura Ulu Watu perched on the magificent height on the south side of Bali where the island ends in sheer cliffs which drop graciously into the clear blue sea. Its hangs literally over the sea. The view is truly breathtaking. From the edge of the cliff you can see a wide range of blue ocean and the forest on the rock hill.
Uluwatu temple is beautiful temple which you can visit in the afternoon to see the sun set. It is located in Pecatu village about 25 KM south of Denpasar. To get there, it takes about half hour by car from Kuta or Ngurah Rai Airport. A taxi from Kuta to Uluwatu takes 30 to 40 minutes up and down winding roads and will cost about Rp 50,000 one-way.
If you are just visiting for the day, consider asking the driver to wait for you for the trip back, as it can be difficult to find transport out of Uluwatu. Figure on paying the taxi driver Rp 10,000/hour to wait.
If you are riding a rented motorcycle from Kuta, be aware that you need an IDP (International Driving Permit). Police perform frequent checks for driving licenses on the road between Kuta and Uluwatu, especially targeting foreigners. If you can not present the necessary paperwork you will be faced with a fine anywhere from Rp 20,000 to Rp 300,000.
The temple is located at edge of the cliff. When you are at the site, to reach the temple, you’ll have to walk 67 stairs and you will see a winged split gate.(The winged split gate was actually built in megalithic era in about 16 century). You can also see palungan batu or sarcophagus in the left and right of the split gate. Inside the temple there is a shrine that is dedicated for worshipping Rudra, one of the manifestation of Sang Hyang Widhi (Almighty God).
The sunsets is really superb. Enjoy the scenery while the wind blows into your face and get ready with your camera to capture the most beautiful sunset. Pura Ulu watu is just a simple and little temple with 3 tiered, but the surroundings around this temple makes this temple so popular.
Entrance fee is Rp 3,000. As usual, you need to be properly dressed to enter and sarongs and sashes can be rented at the entrance. The visitors are not allowed to enter the temple. It's only for Balinese people who do the prayer.
You’ll be surprised a little bit to see that there are many monkeys in the temple. They are from the forest nearby (the forest is called alas kekeran or forbidden forest). They wil grab anything you wear like gold or silver. Take anything off that will attract the attention of the monkeys, your bag, cameras, also your sunglasses, they can be very nasty.
If you do have something taken, the monkeys can usually be induced to exchange it for some fruit. Needless to say, rewarding the monkeys like this only encourages them to steal more. Locals and even the temple priests will be happy to do the job for you, naturally in exchange for a tip (Rp 10,000 - 50,000).
If you walking around the cliff, also be careful, especially if you're with children. The cliff hang directly to Indian Ocean and it's 70 metres high.
3. Pura Ulun Danu - Mysterious temple of the Lake Bratan (Rp 5,000)
Pura Ulun Danu is located in the area of Bedugul, Tabanan area in the central mountains of Bali. Bedugul is located about 50 km north of Denpasar on a main route from South Bali to North Bali.
The area is served by regular bemos which depart from Batubulan terminal in Denpasar in the south and from Singaraja in the north. The Perama bus company has a local office in central Bedugul at the Sari Artha Inn.
In Bedugul you can enjoy the mysterious temple that seems to rise out from the lake Bratan. The temple is fascinating, surrounding by the frequently mist, added the mysterious atmosphere. It’s like that temple floating on the lake. Because of the location high up in on the mountain, the temperature is cool and pleasant. This is truly a romantic place with breathtaking sceneries.
A journey back south to Denpasar and beyond will take 1 hour plus.
4. Pura Besakih - The Mother Temple of Bali (Rp.10,000)
Traveling to east Bali is another exciting experience. You will have to get prepared, you should be fit and take sarong with you. You’re going to hike to the biggest and oldest temple in Bali: The Mother Temple of Besakih.
To reach the place you have to go up to Mount Agung. The location is on 900 meters on the slope of this mountain. By the way Mount Agung is the highest peak in Bali. And you can even climb this mountain from this temple.
This is actually not really ‘a temple’. People just call it ‘a temple’ to make it easy to hear. Located at the slope of the highest mount in Bali, the temple is actually a complex of 18 temples. Each temple has a specific purpose, whether it is for the worship of a particular god, for the use of the people of a particular region of Bali, or for the use of a particular caste.
Located at about 900 meters above the sea level, it gives wonderful views of mountainous area including the view of Mount Agung in the background, in addition to the views of shrines at the temple complex itself.
Getting to besakih temple is quite easy. Two good starting points are Ubud and Kuta. From Ubud, it takes about 2 hours to the northeast. On your way, you can have a quick visit to Kintamani, a place to see Batur Volcano and Batur Lake.
From Kuta, It takes a little longer since you have to go to the east and then the north. You go to the east towards Sanur beach through the fast track coastal route. Then you go to the north after the signs for Klungkung. Besakih is about 20km north of Klungkung and the road is winding at several stretches. You should see a sign for besakih after a few of kilometers from the point you go to the north.
There is also a "back" road to Besakih from Kintamani and the hour-long drive is beautiful as you pass through forests, villages and fields as you move from the slopes of the Batur caldera to that of Mount Agung. The road meets the main Besakih-Klungkung road just before the entrance to Besakih. The official car park fee at Besakih is Rp 5,000 per vehicle.
Bemos run to Besakih from Klungkung. They are most frequent in the morning. You may have to change bemos at Rendang halfway between Klungkung and Besakih.
To reach the temple is not easy, it could be an exhausting experience. Because the bus or the cars doesn’t stop near the entry. The only way to move around the temples of Besakih is on foot. The complex gradually rises up the slopes of Gunung Agung and there are countless flights of steps. Be ready with a pair of comfortable shoes.
First you need to walk 400 metres from the parking to the temple. At the main entrance of the temple, you’ll need to pay Rp. 10000 for the entrance fee, Rp. 1000 for the parking fee, Rp. 1000 for camera use, and Rp. 2500 for video camera use.
If you prefer to ride a motorcycle instead of walking, there are locals who offer motorcycles for rent. To give respect to the temples which are holy places used for Hindu praying, you have to rent and then wear sarong and sash.
You arrive at the temple yard. From here you’ll see the main part of the temple where all the Balinese will go praying in this part. You need to ascend through stairs beside the main part of the temple until you get to the Pura Gelap, the highest point, where you can see the whole area of the temple. You can take picture of the beautiful panorama from here.
The amazing view of the temple with Mount Agung on the background is simply beautiful…
As you enter the ‘real’ gate of the temple, you’ll meet some guides who offer helps to show you around the temple. If you’ve never been to this temple before and want to know more about it, it’s a good idea to have one of the guides. It costs about 25 dollars. If you don’t want to be guided, just say ‘no’. Then you can walk around on your own.
The tourists, especially foreign tourists, sometimes find the guides annoying. Just so you know, some of the guides might force you to hire them. They’ll follow you until you say ‘yes’. Some of the tourists who’d been there complained that the guides didn’t allow them to enter the temple until they hire one of the guides, which costs about 25 dollars. That really is uncomfortable and deviates from the rules.
That’s just a fraud. The guides don’t have any authority to allow or not the visitors to enter the area of temple. If you ever feel disturbed or annoyed by such things, don’t hesitate to report to the temple guardians or officials.
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