Besakih

Besakih is called the "Mother Temple" because it is considered the home of the Balinese ancestors. It is there most sacred of all temples throughout Bali, and like our driver Gede said "its our temple", meaning the temple of his people.

The temple is located about 2 hours north of Kuta, and sits on the foot side of Mt. Agung. The biggest volcano in Bali, standing over 10,300 ft high. It is still considered an active volcano and last errupted in 1963.

The focul point of the 22 temples, that stretch 1 mile up Mt Agung is Pura Penataran Agung. The grand steps which lead to its entrance are lined with impressive statues that during religious ceremonies, are dressed in sarongs and waist sashes.

Entrance into the mother temple is actually unknown to me. When stopped at the main gate, the guard said it was 35,000 Rp. But because this sounded high for the temples, i said "i thought it was 25,000 Rp" and the guard said "oh yes, thats what i said". Though that is only about $3.50 AU, its still seems not right, and i would look more into the prices before going.

Last but not least, once again there are guides provided at the temple. When asked their price, the ticket salesman said "$20 or $30". Ofcourse i laughed, and got the price down to $6 (30,000 Rp). You dont need a guide, but i suggest it, if you want some insider info on the 22 temples. Remember to get the guide to agree to the price at the biggining of the tour, so their are no hassles at the end, even though this is not always true, since we were still asked for more after the tour. But now it was easy to say "sorry we already agreed on "30,000 Rp"

If you have to pick among all the temples in Bali, i suggest that you atleast see the Mother Temple...