Besakih Temple

The greatest of all Balinese sanctuaries, Pura besakih, is the witness of the great natural power barely presented by Mount Agung looming above.
Its stunning look presents the harmonious combination of religi and nature.
The temple complex, about 22 temples in all, is built separately in such a distance of more than one kilometer.
Pura Pengubengan, the highest temple at the compounds, occupies an area where many ancestral temples, such as Pura Padharman, are sustained by a particular clan group.

Puta Penataran Agung, the great temple of state, occupies the central part of Besakih temple. Its six terraces represent a history of successive enlargements.
A sacred rite ‘Bharata Turun Kabeh (meaning ‘Gods descend together') annually celebrated during March or April united the 22 temples.
Thousands of people from any place in the island gather around the temple complex in devoted pray to the Gods. The festival lasts for one-month long.

Stairs ascend through a monumental split gate to the courtyard of the main temple, Pura Panataran Agung, where the central shrine dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu is wrapped in cloth and decorated with flower offerings.

Two other important temples further up the slope join with the Pura Panataran Agung to symbolize the Hindu trinity: the Pura Panataran Agung in the center flies white banners for Shiva, Pura Kiduling Kreteg to the right flies red banners for Brahma; and Pura Batu Mddeg, on the left, has black banners for Vishnu.

There are many other temples to explore at Besakih, but many of their inner courtyards are reserved for worship and closed to visitors.