Besakih
Interesting facts
- In March 1963 the Eka Dasa Rudra, a great purification rite meant to be held roughly once a century, was under way at Besakih when Mount Agung erupted.
- The interrupted Eka Dasa Rudra was performed again in full in 1979, its climax drawing thousands of pilgrims and Indonesia's national leaders to the mountain.
- At the heart of Pura Penataran Agung stand three lotus thrones, the Padma Tiga, honouring Shiva in three aspects: Shiva, Sada Shiva and Parama Shiva.
- According to Balinese tradition, the sage Rsi Markandeya first received divine revelation at Pura Basukian, the shrine within the complex regarded as the cradle of Balinese Hinduism.
- The officially designated sacred zone counts 26 temples, Pura Penataran Agung plus 25 surrounding sanctuaries, slightly more than the 23 usually quoted.
- Research on the site has traced its pre-Hindu layers through menhirs, stone figures and stepped earth terraces that were later overbuilt with meru towers and pavilions.
- The largest annual gathering is Bhatara Turun Kabeh, meaning 'the gods all descend', held in the tenth Balinese month, Kadasa.
- Indonesia put Besakih forward for the UNESCO World Heritage List as early as 1995, but the nomination was withdrawn in 2015.
- Balinese Hindus regard Mount Agung as the seat of the highest gods, which is why the complex is laid out on a single axis climbing toward the summit.
Why it is worth it
High on the southwestern flank of Gunung Agung, Bali's tallest and most sacred volcano, Besakih rises in tier after tier of black-thatched shrines, stepped courtyards and carved stone gateways. Known as the mother temple of the island, it is regarded as the most important, the largest and the holiest sanctuary of Balinese Hinduism. The complex stands nearly 1,000 metres up the mountain, in the village of Besakih in Karangasem Regency, so that on clear days the summit of Agung looms directly above the roofs while the view opens south toward the sea.
Besakih is not a single building but a family of 23 related temples spread over the slope. At its heart is Pura Penataran Agung, laid out on six terraces that climb the hillside. Visitors pass first through a candi bentar, the split gateway typical of Balinese temples, and then through the taller Kori Agung, the inner gate. The courtyards above hold multi-tiered meru towers with stacked roofs of palm fibre, pavilions for offerings and a padmasana, a lotus throne for the supreme deity, which dates from around the seventeenth century. The stone bases of the oldest terraces resemble megalithic stepped pyramids that may be at least 2,000 years old, a sign that the mountain was holy long before Hinduism reached Bali.
Hindu worship at Besakih is documented from 1284, after settlers from Java arrived, and by the fifteenth century it had become the state temple of the Gelgel dynasty, then the leading kingdom of the island. Its relationship with the volcano has always been close: in 1963 a series of eruptions of Mount Agung killed about 1,700 people, yet the lava flows passed within metres of the complex and left it standing, an escape many Balinese read as a sign of divine favour. Ceremonial life here follows the 210-day Pawukon calendar, and at least seventy festivals are held each year, when the courtyards fill with processions, music and towering offerings of fruit and flowers.
Getting there
Besakih lies in Karangasem Regency in eastern Bali. The nearest town to the south is Semarapura (Klungkung), about 19 km away in a straight line, connected to the temple by a road that climbs through Rendang. The nearest airport is Denpasar's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), about 52 km to the southwest.
Plan your visit
We have no confirmed visit data yet. Once it is confirmed, this block also carries the date it was checked.
Nearby places
- Lake Batur 13.8 km · volcanic-crater-lake
- Gunung Kawi 16.3 km · rock-cut-architecture
- Pura Lempuyang Luhur 19.7 km · temple
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Besakih Temple is a pura Hindu temple in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It is the most important, largest, and holiest temple of Balinese Hinduism, and one of a series of Balinese temples. Perched nearly 1,000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is not a single structure but an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples, with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by a candi bentar, and beyond it, the Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard.
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