Travel and Photography | Bali The Land of a Thousand Temples

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Pura Ulun Danau Beratan | Bedugul | Bali | Indonesia

The temple buildings on the little islands are off limits to the tourists. When a special ceremony is planned, bamboo bridges are built out to the islands, so the priests can cross to perform their duties.

© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Pura Ulun Danau Beratan Featured at the Back of the Indonesian 50,000 Rupiah Banknote

Whenever you Google about Bali, you can’t help it but to notice that a lot people will say that Bali is the land of a thousand temples. One of the reason is that, at minimum each village have three temples or Pura, according to my driver or “supir” Pak Badung, when I asked him on why Bali has so many temples. He said to me that at the minimum each village has three temples which is :

PURA PUSEH : Dedicated to Lord BRAHMA who created the world: set on the highest spot of the village (swah), facing the mountains. The village founders are venerated at the local pura puseh.

PURA DESA : Dedicated to Lord VISHNU, who maintains the world: set at the village center, the pura desa helps regulate the village’s activities. As a sign of its importance in village-wide matters, the pura desa traditionally also holds the bale agung, a pavilion where villagers can meet and decide matters as a community.

PURA DALEM : Dedicated to Lord SHIVA, the destroyer: the temple of death, the pura dalem is set at the lowest part of the village, often facing the sea, where demons reside (bhur). As the area of the village closest to bhur, the dead are often buried here as well.

Another reason on why Bali has thousands of temples is that each family compound holds at least one. Balinese families live in walled compounds composed of pavilions for worship, sleeping and eating laid out in an arrangement similar to the human body, with the family temple at the head.

Anyway the point of my blog entry here is not to discuss about temples or “pura” in details but just an introduction to you on why Bali has thousand d temples. The main thing that I want to share with you here is that, if only you have a very limited time in Bali, I will suggest you to visit Pura Ulun Danau Beratan, in Bedugul, picture above. Yes Bali has a thousand temples but personally, I think not many of them as beautiful as this one.

Pura Ulun Danau Beratan, is the second most important temple in Bali after The Mother Temple Besakih. The temple is found on the shores of Danau Beratan (Lake Bratan) in the mountains near Bedugul. If you stay in Kuta or Ubud, to get there will take you around one hour and half, but please take note, Pura Ulun Danau Beratan is among favourite place for Bali people to spend their weekend. According to our supir, normally on Saturday and Sunday, there will be a long traffics jam towards the lake, so better not travel there on weekend but if you have no other option, get there early.

Some people may like Pura Luhur in Uluwatu or Tanah Lot Temple or even Pura Besakih The Mother Temple but for me I like Pura Ulun Danau Beratan the most. I think I’m not alone on this one,  this temple is among the most photogenic place in Bali, and it was chosen to be featured on the back of 50,000 rupiah banknote. It is an iconic temple, just like Taj Mahal in India and Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu Nepal, you can’t go wrong with those iconic landmark. When you saw any of them, you will immediately know which country or places they represent. This temple also is often seen on advertisements for Bali or even for Indonesia, just like Taj Mahal represent India not just Agra.

Actually before I went to Bali, I’ve written few places that I wanted to visit and this one is high on my list, I will make sure to visit this place, I wanted to see it with my own eye and it does not disappoint me. I did not get a chance to have a sunset dinner in Kuta or Jimbaran but I did not regret, but I will regret if I did not get a chance to visit this place.

The road or the journey to get here, either if you coming from from Kuta or Ubud is memorable one. You will see a rice terrace and beautiful villages along the way and not to mention also hundreds of other temples along the way. This temple is set within the highlands of the mountainous Bedugul Regency in Bali, atop a plateau that sits on Lake Beratan. The whole area is at an altitude of 700 metres or more, with the tallest mountain peaks above 2,000 metres, and it can be distinctly chilly here and that’s why you can see the mist covered the hill back there.

Pura Ulun Danau looks very beautiful when the weather is sunny in the morning when the sun rises and the mist covered mountains in part, and the reflection of Ulun Danu temple looks beautiful from the Beratan Lake. The photograph above were taken around 2 Pm and still you can see the mist there. Normally people who visited Pura Luhur in Uluwatu or Tanah Lot Temple is because it looks beautiful during sunset, other than that time, it is not as beautiful as it is, but come to Bedugul at any time of the day and enjoy the scenery. I’m a photographer and when I said it is beautiful, trust me, it is indeed beautiful.

Just like any major temples in Bali, there is also a souvenir shops here and also a restaurant, for muslim, there is a muslim restaurant just across the road from the temple main entrance. The name of the restaurant is RM Muslim Taliwang, Hj. Marfu’ah. There is also a mosque not very far from here.