UNESCO Temple at an Active Volcano

Travel Day 660 – Driving on Bali by Scooter, INDONESIA

05/09 Lovina via Pura Ulun Danu Batur to Toya Bungkah

Since yesterday had only been a half day at the grey sand beach of Lovina, today at least the morning had to be spent again in the sun and by the sea…

UNESCO Supreme Water Temple of Pura Ulun Danu Batur on Bali, Indonesia

Surprisingly enough but the beach was much more relaxed and even the persistent vendors didn’t seem to care for bothering foreigners at the early morning hour. The only people around were some local fishermen who were still trying to make a living the traditional way with their smaller wooden boats. The whole atmosphere was such that it would have been easy to spend the entire day on the sandy ground and in the water, but eventually it seemed time again to jump off the towel and onto the scooter to head towards the active volcano Gunung Batur…

This volcano Gunung Batur, situated inside a huge ancient crater with a big lake, was apparently formed in a 1917 eruption. Since it was possible to spend the night in Toya Bungkah, a village inside the big crater, and since there was also a UNESCO enlisted water temple close by, this seemed to be the perfect destination of the day. But first I had to follow the coastal road towards Singaraja, the main city and the entrance port for Bali during the Dutch colonial times…

Active Volcano Gunung Batur on Bali, Indonesia

Unfortunately there was not a whole lot of Dutch colonial architecture to be seen in Singaraja and so it seemed better to simply carry on towards Sangist and Kubutambahan with its huge terraced temple. Pura Maduwe Karang, as the temple was called, was said to be dedicated to agricultural spirits and it came with some amazing stone carvings and elaborate sculptures. While I was constantly passing temples during the ride, it was sometimes not even possible to tell if they were public or if they belonged to the fancy backyard of a richer person, but Pura Maduwe Karang was clearly a different league of temple and certainly worth the stop…

But what was also worth the stop was Bali’s second most important temple, the UNESCO Supreme Water Temple of Pura Ulun Danu Batur. Situated right on the rim of the large ancient crater and overlooking the active volcano of Gunung Batur, this temple was definitely a different league as well. It was dedicated to the goddess of rivers and lakes and it had originally stood inside the crater, but a violent eruption in 1926 had apparently destroyed the temple and the village…

Stone Carved Temple of Pura Maduwe Karang on Bali, Indonesia

Anyway, the drive from the coast towards Gunung Bataur had been quite amazing again, through forests on seemingly endlessly winding roads while gaining altitude towards the volcano. After stopping multiple times to enjoy the views and to put on more layers, the day was coming to an end. By this time I finally reached the outer rim road of the old crater and could enjoy the extraordinary views. Everything reminded me almost of the crater valley by Tagaytay in the Philippines with the lake and other smaller cones in the middle…

After following the rim road for quite a scenic while, the road to Toya Bungkah then dropped down into the crater valley with an unbelievable, moon like looking dried lava landscape. Unfortunately this area was well-known for its mafia like methods to push people into buying expensive trekking tours with dubious guides and so it took me quite an annoying while to get rid of the guys on motorcycles who started following and hustling me. Only because I made it very clear that I didn’t care about any trekking, I was finally able to find a genuinely nice local person who offered me a lovely place to stay. It was freezing cold and since there was no restaurant, I had to convince some locals to make me a packaged noodle soup for dinner, but I still loved it there for the unique atmosphere. This drive on Bali had really brought me so far to some interesting places and tonight was definitely my first night of sleeping inside a crater and at the base of an active volcano…

Find all Pura Maduwe Karang – Pura Ulun Danu Batur and Lovina to Toya Bungkah photos here.