Pura Lempuyang Luhur

Pura Lempuyang Luhur crowns Mount Lempuyang, the peak also known as Gamongan Hill, in Karangasem in the far east of Bali. It is the highest of seven temples strung along the mountain, at about 1,060 metres above sea level, and one of the island's directional sanctuaries, the small group of temples that Balinese Hinduism treats as guarding Bali as a whole. Its patron is Iswara, the deity of the east, which makes it a place of particular weight for the island's ceremonies and a goal of serious pilgrimage rather than a casual stop.

The way up is the point. The path begins at Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang, the lowest major temple of the group, with its white split gate, three dragon-flanked stairways and the famous view framing the cone of Mount Agung across the valley, and continues past Telaga Mas, Telaga Sawangan, Lempuyang Madya, Puncak Bisbis and Pasar Agung. From the bottom to the summit there are around 1,700 steps, climbing through forest where the air grows cooler with every flight. Most of the crowds stop at the lower gate; the summit temple is reached by far fewer people.

The upper sanctuary itself is modest in size, a walled courtyard of shrines and offering pavilions on a forested summit, and that restraint is part of its beauty. What you find there is less a monument than a working holy place, reached on foot like a true pilgrimage. The full climb takes most visitors one and a half to two hours each way; temple dress is expected throughout the complex.

Getting there

The temples lie about 7 km in a straight line from Amlapura, the main town of Karangasem regency. The nearest airport is Denpasar Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), about 65 km away in a straight line and a long road journey across the island. Visitors arrive by car or hired driver at the parking area below the complex, from which a shuttle or a short uphill walk leads to Penataran Agung and the start of the stairway to the summit.