The Best Ancient Temples to See in Bali
Last Updated on November 10, 2019 by Anita Hendrieka
If you are looking for some unique locations and destinations in Asia, Bali is the place you should visit. This place offers you a great way to explore the coast and highlands and some of the magnificent old structures and temples that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Bali is popular for its temples and therefore you must make sure that you explore these ornately decorated religious places that offer a great way to make your holiday trips better. Here we explore some of the best ancient temples to see in Bali.
Besakih Temple
Nestled in Karangasem, East Bali, this is the largest and holiest of all the temples you will find in Bali. Also known as the Mother Temple, Besakih Temple stands 1000 meters above the sea level on the southwest side of Mount Agung. The temple has a huge area and therefore you need plenty of hours to explore it. The temple’s largest area is Pura Penataran Agung and is often the most visited area of the temple. When you are here you must also make sure that you visit the east section of the temple which also is one of the popular segments of the temple.
Ulun Danu Beratan Temple
Located in Bali’s central highlands, this temple is certainly worth capturing on camera. Ulun Danu Beratan temple is one of the iconic temples of Bali and therefore you must not miss this one if you are looking out for best ancient temples in Bali. The striking scenery and the landscape only add to the beauty of the ancient temple structure. When you are done with exploring the temple you can also take pictures and admire the beauty or take short boat trips around the lake.
Tanah Lot
Located in Tabanan, West Bali, Tanah Lot is among the most popular ancient temples in Bali. This temple has a great landscape and scenery around it making it a postcard-perfect ancient temple that you can find in Bali. Nestled on the coast of Beraban village this ancient Hindu shrine stands tall amidst the crashing sea waves and it still manages to attract devotees and tourists from all over the world. If you are here in West Bali you must visit this temple during the holy day of Kuningan and experience the beauty of Tanah Lot in all its might. If you are on the western coast of Bali, Traveloka can provide you a great stay experience at Alila Seminyak which is only an hour away from Tanah Lot.
Goa Gajah
Known as the Elephant Cave, Goa Gajah certainly has great historical significance and therefore you should not miss it. Located in the Central Bali in the Ubud region, this temple was built initially for meditation and dates back to the 11th century. The temple also has the legendary Petanu River that flows within the temple grounds out into rice fields across the country. The temple has a bathing pool that has a carving of angelic statues holding water spout vases which are very iconic.
Which temple will you visit on your next trip to Bali?
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Ryan Biddulph
Hi Anita!
What a list. Still need to visit Elephant Cave. We saw the others. All rocked! Especially the gorgeous temple on the pond in Northern Bali. Make sure to head to the local mountains from this temple; plenty of monkeys to feed and play with as you journey up the hill. We loved our time on each temple’s grounds. Tannah Lot is epic! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ryan
Dana
I’m trying to talk my husband into a trip to Bali in 2017. I’m adding these to my list, so hopefully I can convince him 🙂
Dailey Adventurers
Bali sounds absolutely magical! I have never visited a Hindu temple before, so it would be interesting to see how they differ from other Buddhist temples that we saw in southeast Asia.
Laura Lynch
These temples all sound very interesting. I’d make sure to see them in Bali.
Danielle
So nice to see an article about Bali that isn’t just your tourist/resort type stuff. I’ve avoided going in the past for fear of it being overrun by tourists, but the places you’ve listed just look incredible – and worthwhile regardless of tourists!
hcura
I’d like to visit all of them! Such a beautiful region. And those photos are stunning.
Nat Deduck
Oooooh… I’m missing Bali so much!
The temples there are amazing, my favorite is Tirta Empul (The Water Temple), and I love Uluwatu too!
Happy travels,
Nat
Julie
I can’t wait to finally get to Bali one of these days. I feel like with my agenda of temples and beaches, I could probably spend a month, just ticking off all the things that I’ve heard to do there!
traveling9to5er
I went to Bali earlier this year and loved it. Didn’t make it to enough of these temples. I guess I’ll just have to go back.
mappingmegan
Thanks for this list! Bali is so close to us now that we’re based in Australia, so I’m keeping an eye on flight comparison websites to hopefully catch a cheap flight soon! Temple hopping sounds fun!