Besakih

Posted in June 3, 2009 ¬ 12:21 pmh.admin

Besakih Temple

By Bram P

besakih temple

Besakih temple well known as the mother of temple in Bali because this is one of the largest and most important temple in Bali and lies in western slope of mount Agung (3,148 meters). The temple lies about 1,000 meters in altitude.

Besakih means salvation, the word Besakih derived from Basuki. The word Basuki itself was taken from language Sunskrit, which is Wasuki which means salvation.

Besakih consist of 22 temples stretch more than a kilometer. The highest one is Pengubengan temple.

Besakih temple has dual structure, Penataran Agung temple is the main temple “above the steps” and Dalem Puri temple is “below the steps”. This small temple is dedicated to Batari Durga, known as goddes of death.

Three largest temple are dedicated for The Hindu Trinity; Penataran Agung temple honors Shiva, Dangin Kreteg temple honors Brahma and Batu Madeg temple honors Vishnu.

Besakih’s great annual festival is “Bhatara Turun Kabeh” rite. This festival will arise in Purnama Kadasa (10^th lunar month), in March or April. Thousands of people from all over Bali will come to worship and solemn rituals will be conducted by Brahamana high priest. Officially Besakih temple open from 8 am - 5 pm.

Travel Tips:

Bring sarong, shirt and sash because wearing short pants, tank tops, short skirt anything similarity are not allowed.
Women who are menstruating also not allowed into the temple.The best time to visit the temple is early morning or late afternoon because temple more quiet and empty.
At night the temperature will get cold because the temple lies in slope of mount Agung.

How to get there?

Besakih temple is located in Karangasem regency, distrik Rendang, Besakih village. From Denpasar heading east to Kusamba by Kusamba bypass. From Kusamba heading north to Klungkung then heading north to Menanga, taking right to the road heading to Besakih. You can take alternate route from Denpasar by heading east to Gianyar by Batubulan - Celuk - Sukawati - Blahbatuh - Gianyar. From Gianyar keep heading east to Klungkung, then you can take the same route above. The distance from Denpasar to Besakih is about 62 km or 3 hours.