Description of the attraction
Luhur Batukaru Temple is a Hindu temple located in Tabanan province, Bali island. Luhur Batukaru is built on the slope of Mount Batukaru and is one of the nine sacred temples in Bali that protect the island from evil spirits. The Luhur Batukaru temple protects the island from the western side.
Mount Batukaru, sometimes pronounced its name as Batukau, is the second highest mountain in Bali. The height of the mountain is 2, 276 meters, the top of the mountain is constantly enveloped in clouds, and this gives the mountain its originality and mystery. The Balinese revere this mountain and consider it sacred, and they built a temple on it in honor of the spirit of this mountain. It is worth noting that Mount Batukaru is the third sacred mountain after the Agunga and Batura mountains. At the top of the mountain, which is an extinct volcano, there is a crater, the largest in size among the craters of Bali, its diameter reaches 12 km.
The Luhur Batukaru temple was built in the 11th century and was dedicated to the ancestors of the rajas of the Tabanan province. In 1604, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt only three centuries later - in 1959. One of the most important shrines of the temple is a seven-tiered pagoda dedicated to the spirit of Mount Batukar - Mahadeva. It is believed that the spirit of the mountain - the goddess of the land Mahadeva - protects the surroundings from earthquakes and disasters, and that since the construction of the temple in honor of the goddess, the volcano has never erupted.
You have to get to the temple along a rocky road, so there are not many people there. This temple is an obligatory stop for the Balinese pilgrimage to the top of Mount Batukaru, such a pilgrimage is made once a year. The temple is surrounded by many flowers and greenery, therefore it is also called the "Garden Temple".
