Bali – Besakih Temple

The Besakih Temple is the biggest Hindu temple in Bali. It is located in southwest side bevel of mount Agung, the biggest mountains in Bali.

This Mother Temple is actually a complex made up of twenty-two temples that sit on parallel ridges. It has stepped terraces and flights of stairs which ascend to a number of courtyards and brick gateways that in turn lead up to the main spire. All this is aligned along a single axis and designed to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain which is considered sacred.

A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people also threatened the temple. The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected.