Vancouver Banshee: Indonesia -- Day 12 Tanah Lot, Bali

Entrance to Tanah Lot, Bali

Today the Adventures Abroad itinerary was:

Today we depart Lovina and travel past spectacular rice terraces to the artists' village of Ubud.

Along the way we visit the spectacular rice terraces at Pupuan. We proceed from there to Tanah Lot, an ocean temple built atop a huge rock surrounded by the sea at high tide by one of the last priests to come to Bali from Java in the 16th century. Its rituals include the paying of homage to the guardian spirits of the sea. Sea snakes found at the base are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders.

We continue to Ubud, a remarkable town located in the middle of the island. For more than a century, it has been the island's preeminent centre for fine arts, dance and music. While it once was a haven for scruffy backpackers, cosmic seekers, artists and bohemians, Ubud is now a hot spot for literati, glitterati, art collectors and connoisseurs.

Overnight in Ubud. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.

Ocean at Tanah Lot, Bali

Isn't this beautiful? The water is so clear and the waves are just so soothing.

Ocean at Tanah Lot, Bali

From Wikipedia:

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home of a pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot (literally "Tanah Lot temple") and a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.

Tanah Lot means "Land [sic: in the] Sea" in Balinese language Located in Tabanan, about 20 km from Denpasar, the temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. However, the temple had significant Hindu influence.

At the base of the rocky island, poisonous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. A giant snake purportedly protects the temple, which was created from Nirata’s scarf when he established the island.

Ocean at Tanah Lot, Bali

In 1980 the temple’s rock face was starting to crumble and the area around and inside the temple started to become dangerous. The Japanese government then provided a loan to the Indonesia government of Rp 800 billion (approximately USD $130 million) to conserve the historic temple and other significant locations around Bali. As a result, over one third of Tanah Lot's "rock" is actually cleverly disguised artificial rock created during the Japanese-funded and supervised renovation and stabilization program.

The area leading to Tanah Lot is highly commercialized and people are required to pay to enter the area. To reach the temple, visitors must walk through a carefully planned set of Balinese market-format souvenir shops which cover each side of the path down to the sea. On the mainland cliff tops, restaurants have also been provided for tourists.

Tanah Lot, Bali

Prices to get into Tanah Lot:

According to Tabanan government regulation No. 29/2011 about Recreation and Sports Retribution, we are inform to all visitor, travel agent, hotel, and any other tourism actors, about the increasing of Ticket Price in Tanah Lot. This desicion was made for the improvement infrastructure and services to tourists. And the increasing of ticket price in Tanah Lot will start from April 1^st, 2012.

Current Ticket Price :

Children Domestic : Rp. 5.000

Adult Domestic : Rp. 7.500

Foreigner : Rp. 10.000

After Increasing :

Children Domestic : Rp. 7.500

Adult Domestic : Rp. 10.000

Children Foreign : Rp. 15.000

Me at Tanah Lot, Bali

Tanah Lot, Bali

Seriously, this was beyond beautiful !! I could've spent the entire day here just wandering around in and out of the water. The tide was coming in when I was there and it comes in quite fast. So beautiful !!