Tanah Lot is one of the most important Hindu temples in the Indonesian island of Bali. Here, two temples are built on top of a big rock. One is on a large rock, and the other is on a cliff like Uluwatu Temple. Part of the Dang Kahyangan temple is the Tanah Lot Temple. The Tanah Lot Temple is a sea temple where the gods who watch over the sea are worshiped. People go to Tanah Lot because it is a beautiful place to watch the sun go down.
Where is it located
The location of the Tanah Lot temple tourist attraction, is located in Beraban Village, Kediri District, Tabanan Regency. Usually tourists who want to vacation at Tanah Lot temple in the morning, will also visit the tourist attractions of Bedugul Bali, then Jatiluwih terraced rice fields and continue to Tanah Lot temple.
What to Expect
The uniqueness of the Tanah Lot tourist attraction is found in the location of two temples which are on a black rock cliff on the coast. Both temples overlook the ocean off the Indian Ocean
One temple was built right at the top of a very large black rock and is located on the left side of the beach. This temple is better known as the Tanah Lot temple.
At high tide, sea water will cover the beach area and make the location of the Tanah Lot temple look like it is in the middle of the ocean. This high tide moment also looks like a ship made of large black stones floating on the surface of the sea water.
While the second temple is on the edge of a cliff, which is also in the middle of the sea on the right side of the Tanah Lot beach area. Under the cliff at the location of the second temple there is a large hole, which is always passed by big waves.
The Beauty of the Tanah Lot Sunset View
The beauty of the Tanah Lot temple is found in the combination of natural beauty combined with cultural beauty. When you are on vacation to Tanah Lot on the island of Bali, you will see the roar of the waves crashing against the rock cliffs. Towards sunset, little by little the color of the sky changed dramatically filled with various colors.
When the sun is no longer visible on the horizon, it is the time for the most beautiful sunset in Tanah Lot. Because besides visitors being able to see the sunset, visitors will also see the silhouette of the Tanah Lot temple. The beauty of the moment when the sun sets in Tanah Lot is what always attracts tourist visits to Tanah Lot Bali.
Best time to visit
The Tanah Lot Bali temple attraction is open every day from 07:00 – 19:00. Regarding the best time to visit the Tanah Lot temple, every tourist will have different criteria for vacation destinations. There are those who like vacations to Tanah Lot when the area is not yet crowded with tourist visits. There are also tourists who prioritize being able to see the sunset view.
If you don’t like crowds, then the best time to visit Tanah Lot is in the morning before 10:00. Because after 10:00, the Tanah Lot tourist attraction will start to get busy with tourist visits.
If you don’t want a vacation when Tanah Lot is crowded with tourist visits, and still want to see the view of Tanah Lot. So the best time for a vacation to Tanah Lot is during the low season of tourist visits on the island of Bali. The low season of tourist visits in Bali occurs in the middle of January to April. Also occurs in September to the end of November.
Watching Sunset
If you want to see the beautiful sunset view of the Tanah Lot temple, which is obviously beautiful and very popular. So the best time to visit is around 17:00 – 17:30. Because the time span of sunset in Bali occurs between 17:40 – 18:25.
However, by visiting the Tanah Lot temple at the time before sunset, then you must be prepared for the hectic tourist visits before sunset in Tanah Lot.
If before sunset at Tanah Lot you want to take a walk around the tourist area of Tanah Lot Bali, then it’s a good idea to arrive early at around 16:30.
What are the prices / Entrance fee of Tanah Lot?
After you arrive at the Tanah Lot Bali tourist area, you will see a vehicle entrance gate just like you enter a toll road. At the vehicle entrance gate, there will be an officer who asks the visitor how many adult and child visitors are in the vehicle. Because the price for admission to Tanah Lot is different for adults and children.
Below is a list of ticket prices for local and foreign tourists to Tanah Lot Bali tourist attraction along with vehicle parking fees.
Adult (foreign) : IDR 20.000 (60.000) / Person
Children (foreign) : IDR 15.000 (30.000) / Person
Car Parking : IDR 5000 / Vehicle
Motorcycle parking : IDR 2000 / Vehicle
Bus : IDR 20.000 / Vehicle
What are the facilities offered in Tanah Lot?
- Restrooms
- Parking area
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Art shop
- Tourist information center
- Open stage
- Visitor safety and security services.
Conclusion
Tanah Lot is one of the most important Hindu temples on the island of Bali. People go to Tanah Lot because it is a beautiful place to watch the sun go down. At high tide, it looks like a ship made of big black rocks floating on the water. The Tanah Lot Bali temple is open from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm every day. The best time to go is either before 10:00 in the morning and 17.00 late afternoon.
After 10 o’clock, there will be a lot of people at the tourist spot. Locals and feoreign visitor pay different amounts to get into Tanah Lot. Parking costs vary from IDR 5,000 to IDR 20,000.
The History of Tanah Lot
The history of Tanah Lot Temple Bali Indonesia is based on a legend, it is said that in the 15th century, Bhagawan Dang Hyang Nirartha or known as Dang Hyang Dwijendra carried out a mission to spread Hinduism from Java to Bali.
At that time the ruler on the island of Bali was King Dalem Waturenggong. He very much welcomed the arrival of Dang Hyang Nirartha in carrying out his mission, so that the spread of Hinduism managed to reach remote villages on the island of Bali.
In the history of Tanah Lot, it is narrated that Dang Hyang Nirartha saw a holy light from the southern sea of Bali, so Dang Hyang Nirartha looked for the location of the light and he arrived at a beach in a village called Beraban Tabanan village.
At that time the village of Beraban was led by the Bendesa Beraban Sakti, who strongly opposed the teachings of Dang Hyang Nirartha in spreading Hinduism. Bendesa Beraban Sakti, adheres to the flow of monotheism.
Dang Hyang Nirartha meditated on a rock that resembled the shape of a parrot that was originally on land.
In various ways, Bendesa Beraban wanted to expel the existence of Dang Hyang Nirartha from his meditation place.
According to the history of Tanah Lot, based on the legend of Dang Hyang Nirartha, he moved a rock (his place of meditation) to the middle of the beach with spiritual power. The rock is named Tanah Lot which means rock in the middle of the ocean.
Since that incident, the Bendesa Beraban Sakti acknowledged the supernatural powers of Dang Hyang Nirartha by becoming his followers to embrace Hinduism along with all the local residents.
It is said in the history of Tanah Lot, before leaving the village of Beraban, Dang Hyang Nirartha gave a keris to the village of Beraban. The keris has the power to eliminate all diseases that attack plants.
The keris is kept in Puri Kediri and a religious ceremony is held at Tanah Lot Temple every six months. Since this is routinely done by the residents of Beraban village, the welfare of the residents has greatly improved with abundant agricultural crops and they live with mutual respect.
