Besakih Temple, known as Bali\’s Mother Temple for over 1,000 years, is located at an altitude of 1,000 meters on the southwestern slope of Mount Agung .
Besakih is the largest and most sacred of the island\’s temples and is surrounded by impressive and picturesque rice fields, hills, mountains, streams and more.
The Mother Temple of Bali
For Balinese, visiting the temple shrines is a special pilgrimage. The high location of Mount Agung gives it an almost mystical quality. Many stairs lead to the sacred mountain, which leads to many temples that vary according to types, status and functions.
Pure Besakih presents three temples dedicated to the Hindu trinity and are the following Pure:
You can visit other temples in Pure Besakih, but many of its inner courtyards are closed to the public as they are reserved for pilgrims. Pura Besakih is the only temple open to all devotees of any caste group, because of its nature as the center of all ceremonial activities.
The interior of the Pura Besakih temple
Pura Batu Madeg, which contains a central stone, indicates that the Pura Besakih area was already considered a sacred place from ancient times. In the eighth century, a Hindustani monk had revelations to build homes for the people during their isolation. During the process, many of his followers died due to illness and accidents.
At its completion it was called «Basuki», referring to the dragon deity «Naga Besukian», who is believed to inhabit Mount Agung. The name eventually evolved to «Besakih» Other shrines were gradually built and Pure Besakih became the main temple during the conquest of Bali by the Majapahit Empire in 1343.
Since then, Pure Besakih has had several restorations such as earthquakes in 1917 and the series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963 damaged the complex. The lava flow passed through Pura Besakih and is believed to be a miraculous sign from the deities that they wanted to demonstrate their power without completely destroying the sacred complex that their devotees had built for them.
The largest temple of the complex, Pura Penataran Agung, has different areas that represent seven layers of the universe, each with its own shrines. Pura Pasimpangan on the downstream side (east of the main road) and Pura Pangubengan upstream are approximately three kilometers away. Located on higher ground, the closest to the peak of Mount Agung, Pura Pangubengan has excellent views and is about a 30 minute walk from the main Pura Penataran Agung. About 10 minutes east of Pura Pangubengan is Pura Batu Tirtha, where holy water is obtained for «karya agung» ceremonies in the villages of Pura Besakih and Pekraman.