Travel By Photos – Tanah Lot And Batu Bolong Temple in Bali

“I’ve missed it on my first travel to Bali. So I felt great to have the chance to visit Pura Luhur Uluwatu during the sunset hours this trip.” This was what I admitted in my last post on Bali. In fact, all Nine Directional Temples carry significant weight with not only local people but also foreign visitors who come to Bali for holidays. Tanah Lot temple is another one of them and was in my bucket list before. Thanks to the tremendous low fares from Airasia, I flew to Bali once again and had visited both temples!

Pura Batu Bolong on perforated rock

Besides Pura Luhur Uluwatu, Tanah Lot is another hot travelers’ attraction in Bali. It offers great sunset photo shooting spot for travel photographer. I didn’t capture any sunset scene here this time round, instead we went there early morning for a different experience. Let’s talk through it.

Tanah Lot temple is located just 40 minutes drive away from Kuta in the Southern region of Bali. Its close proximity to Kuta is another reason why it’s so popular among travelers. If you plan to capture its view during sunset though, it’s best to hire a taxi for a round trip there. Since it is located in a less developed region, catching a cab back to your hotel during evening hours could be tricky.

After our taxi driver dropped us off at the car park, we walked towards the beach and saw the Balinese entrance split gate. The sign reads Pura Batu Bolong. Yes. It’s not Tanah Lot temple. Not yet. Pura Batu Bolong is another temple nearby sitting on a cliff rock on beach Canggu, and facing out south to Indian Ocean.

“Batu Bolong” in Indonesian language means perforated rock. As its name implies, the temple is built on rock stretching out to ocean with void in the middle, This nature phenomena makes it another hot spot for sunset photography.

Pura Batu Bolong was first built as a place for worshipping the Ida Batara Segara. It is one of the Jagat Temple of Heaven in Bali and local Hindu community comes here every day to perform prayers.

Pura Tanah Lot on another offshore rock

When we looked out into the ocean from the temple, Tanah Lot Temple is within our sight sitting on another offshore cliff rock a stone throw away. We then walked along the shore up to the entrance split gate with a sign reads Pura Tanah Lot. We finally got there!

Being one of the most important Directional temple of Bali that built in 15th centure by Hindu priest Nirartha, it forms an important element of Balinese spirtualism and mythology.

It is highly frequented by tourists, especially in the evening before sunset when people flock in for its magnificent sunset view. During morning hours when we were there, we had to fight through the crowds to reach up to a cliff opposite to get a clear view of the offshore temple.

Only at low tide in early morning, visitors can walk across water to the rock base of Tanah Lot temple, and eventually walk up to the temple. We were too late to be able to reach the temple base. That said, its glorious view remain attractive from far. Needless to say, tens of photos were taken with my Nikon D7000 from various angles.

After spending our morning in Tanah Lot, we headed to Ubud for our lunch at one of the local Balinese restaurants. Next, we tasted the local Luwak coffee in one of the local factory. Off course, no visit to Ubud is complete without visiting and shopping for a carved wood sculpture in the local shops. Before sunset, our taxi driver drove us back to Kuta where we wandered Kuta beach until sun set. Sunset again? Yes. I love sunset and Southern Bali is the best travel destination for amazing sunset scenes.

Bali is a travel destination where you always wish to come back again and again. I’ve been there twice and am planning to visit there again! Flights to Bali are undeniably expensive due to its popularity, especially during peak season from June until September. That said, you can still grab some extraordinary low fares with helps from trusted online booking websites such as Traveloka. My recent travel to Bali could not be possible without me grabbing their Airasia promo at the right time! – Travel Feeder

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.