Pura Besakih
About Pura Besakih
Pura Besakih, known as the Mother Temple of Bali, comprises 23 separate but related temples organized across six terraced levels on the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung. The complex contains 86 individual shrines and extends over three kilometers, with Pura Penataran Agung at its heart featuring a massive staircase and 22 temples dedicated to Shiva. The site's architectural elements include split gateways called Candi Bentar and thatched Meru towers reaching up to 11 tiers. Dating to at least the 8th century, the temple gained prominence under the Majapahit Empire and was spiritually revitalized by the Hindu priest Dang Hyang Nirartha in the 16th century. The complex holds unique cultural significance as the only temple where Hindus of all social classes and castes are permitted to worship together, and it survived the catastrophic 1963 Mount Agung eruption when lava flows missed the structures by mere meters—an event regarded locally as divine intervention.
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