Pura Lempuyang temple Bali tour
Staying at the OK Divers Resort & Spa in Padangbai gave me an opportunity to visit some places in the Eastern Bali. I checked what kind of tours the resort offers and chose to indulge in the spiritual world of the island by exploring the Lempuyang and Tirta Gangga temples. Let me tell you more about my Pura Lempuyang temple Bali tour in this post.
After breakfast we hopped on the van and for more than an hour drove towards the East coast to enter the Pura Lempuyang temple which is one of the most known, and also one of the oldest Balinese Hindu temples.
The temple is situated on top of the Lempuyang mount so if you don’t like walking and you are not fit at all, I do not recommend it unless you just want to visit the first temple just a few steps from the entrance. When it comes to the architecture, the first temple is worth a visit.
We, on the other hand, opted for climbing more than 1,700 steps to the main 4th temple on the very top and walk all the way up there to the 1,175 metres above sea level without taking motorcycle taxis operated by local men.
There’s some grey long-tailed macaques (monkeys) on the way so just watch out what you are doing.
I have to admit it was a lot of exercise, we sweated like crazy and had to stop every few minutes and even our local guide laughed at us.
But the view from the top was definitely worth it. And we also managed to see a group of local men praying there. One smoking a cigarette, another one anwering his phone call during the prayer, but at least the others in the group behaved like one should at the temple.
The Lempuyang temple was pretty empty that day but I was very grateful for that. Being a famous pilgrimage place, it gets overcrowded during some local ceremonies. I bet the whole experience is completely different during a ceremony to the day we visited.
The whole climb to the top temple was very rewarding mostly for the views of the Mt. Agung volcano (Bali’s highest peak) and the seashore on the other side; but not so much for the beauty of the temple itself.
I was glad on the way down it did not take us long to get back to the parking lot.
Tips:
- bring loads of water – you can also buy some on the way
- comfortable shoes for walking
- you need to wear a sarong around your waist and legs, and also cover your shoulders to enter
- be careful with monkeys – it’s better not to provoke them and hide everything when they get closer (phones, cameras, shining things, bottles, and especially food)
- be ready for a lot of walking
- maybe not recommended if you have knee problems
- you can pay a motorbike driver to take you up/down the road in between the 1st and 2nd temple which would save you maybe around 30-minute walk
- in my opinion, the top temple is not that special but the view is amazing
TIP: For more photos, check out my Pura Lempuyang temple full album and also Tirta Gangga water palace we visited just after.
Have you been to Bali? What do you say about this temple?
