PURA LEMPUYANG

At the exit of Abang, on the main road 5 km north of Tirtagangga, a road goes to the right towards Pura Lempuyang (the road is signposted), an important temple of the region and the island. The road then splits in two, it is necessary to take on the right. It becomes very winding and climbs steeply for about 2 km (you will not be able to pass the^2nd gear - be careful if you are sensitive to motion sickness or if you travel with children...) It then leads to the parking lot of the lower temple of Lempuyang. We can't go further by car, we will have to finish on foot!

The lower temple is impressive; stairs lead first of all to a gigantic symbolic door(candi bentar) in white stone, as if suspended in the air between the plunging vision on the Agung volcano on one side and on the other side, a large courtyard from where three colossal stairs leave. They represent nagas, these massive mythical snakes, the bases of creation.

Their body undulates along the steps and ends with an impressive dragon head. Three doors (closed to the public) open onto the upper altar. The view from this temple is well worth the trip. A little advice: to enjoy the most beautiful light and to get the most out of it, come especially early in the morning. And in addition, there will be much less people.

The second temple of the complex, Pura Luhur Lempuyang(luhur means "high"), the most sacred of the two, because it is the highest, is a good hour and a half walk from there (at a good pace, but with breaks). It is a bit difficult to get to between the road and the many stairs, so be careful if you have small children or if you have difficulty walking. It is necessary to take the small tarred and very sloping road which skirts the temple of the bottom on its right during a good kilometer. The concrete stairs then begin to wind through a cloud forest with dense vegetation (tree ferns, yuccas, dragon trees, etc.); there are 1,700 steps to reach the top. The upper temple itself is much less impressive than the lower one, but it is often deserted during the day and there is a strange atmosphere. It is the territory of the monkeys who rummage in the remains of offerings piled up behind the temple. Every morning and evening, some of the local faithful climb these steps to make offerings on one of the directional temples of the island, dedicated to the protection of East Bali.