A visit to Pura Tanah Lot

You can't claim that you've "seen Bali" if you haven't been to Pura Tanah Lot.   Well, so the guide books say. 

Pura Tanah Lot (PTL from now one) is one of Bali's most widely promoted landmarks, and it's easy to see why.  The small temple of PTL sits on a rocky outcrop which is accessible on foot at low tide, but isolated at high tide.  You get a feeling for just how crowded this place becomes when you enter the huge carpark and see row upon row of tourist coaches.  The locals are ready to turn this popularity to their advantage and the path to PTL  (unless you ignore the signpost and take a short cut) winds through rows of stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs and foodstuffs.  They provide a major source of income for the region. 

The visitor must negotiate lanes
of stalls to get to the entrance.

When you get past the stalls and reach the gate of the temple complex you can have your photograph taken with one of two large pythons wrapped around you.  That was a sensation (and expense) I could well do without, so Jaya and I joined a good number of others to see PTL.  The main rush of coaches and hordes of visitors had not yet arrived - they usually show up just before sunset - so the place was not yet crowded. We saw PTL from the cliff tops, and then went to the beach to see it from sea level.

Pura Tanah Lot

The PTL temple contains several small shrines.  The parts which face the sea (or "Lot") are dedicated to a Balinese godess, and the part  facing the land (or "Tanah") is believed to be the seat of the gods from the mountain of Gunung Butukau, Bali's second highest peak.  The building of the temple is traditionally ascribed to Dang Hyang Niratha, a Brahmin priest, poet and architect from Java (about mid 1500's).

The outline of Pura Tanah Lot from
connecting rock platform at low tide.

Unfortunately the rock on which PTL stands is being steadily eroded by the sea and attempts to protect and stabilise it have been required.

We saw it in the mid afternoon and were impressed by its construction.  As the skies were growing darker with thick and threatening cloud, and the sea haze was increasing, we did not see it at its spectacular best.  As the sun sinks into the Bali Strait it lights up the seaward face and gives the thousands gathered on the cliff tops or beach (at low tide) a memorable view of the rock and shrines  silhouetted against the glowing sky.