Guide · The mother temple

Besakih Temple, the mother temple on Mount Agung

Besakih Temple climbs the slope of Bali's highest volcano in terraces of shrines and tiered roofs: what you see there, when the great ceremonies fall, and how to visit it with respect.

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Editorial team, balitempletour.comUpdated October 24, 2026Reading time 6 min43 sources

On this topic: the tour East Bali day: Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga and Besakih 4.8 (3,587 reviews) 9 to 10 hoursLempuyang, Tirta Gangga, BesakihPrivate or small-group options from$28per person Check availabilityFree cancellation until 24 hrs ahead of the start

What to know first

01Where: On the southwest slope of Mount Agung at about 1,000 m, in Karangasem.¹ ²
02How big: A complex of 23 temples, with Penataran Agung at its centre.³
03How old: First recorded in an inscription of 1007 AD.⁴
04Entry: Official pages give IDR 60,000 to 150,000 for foreign adults.⁵ ⁶
05On this site's tour: A 1-hour visit at the end of the East Bali day.

Why Besakih is called the mother temple

Besakih Temple is the place the Balinese mean when they speak of a mother temple. The provincial tourism office describes it as Bali's mother temple, high on the slopes of Gunung Agung, and says it has been regarded as a holy place since prehistoric times.⁷ Since the Gelgel dynasty of the 15th century it has served as the central holy temple for the whole island.⁸

That role shows in the layout. Each regency of Bali has its own temple within the compound, and so does each caste group, which is why the complex keeps unfolding as you climb.⁹ The Ministry of Tourism calls it the principal place of worship of the Three Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.¹⁰

The name itself is a blessing. According to the Ministry, Besakih comes from the Sanskrit Wasuki, meaning safe.¹¹ Standing below Agung, the highest point on Bali, the temple seems to borrow the mountain's height for its own.¹²

Through the centuries

Besakih from first record to today

1007 AD

First inscription

The first recorded mention of Besakih.⁴
15th century

State temple

The Gelgel dynasty makes it the island's holy centre.⁸
1963

Agung erupts

Lava flows miss the temple complex by mere meters.¹³
1979

Eka Dasa Rudra

The rite held once every 100 years last takes place.¹⁴ ¹⁵
1995 to 2015

World Heritage bid

Nominated in 1995, withdrawn in 2015.¹⁶
2017 to 2019

Agung active again

The volcano's most recent eruptions.¹⁷

The biggest temple in Bali, terrace by terrace

Besakih is the biggest temple in Bali by any measure that matters to a visitor. The Ministry counts 23 large and small temples in the complex, with Penataran Agung at its centre, where the major ceremonies take place.³ The main complex is built on six levels, terraced up the slope, so most of a visit is spent on stairs.¹⁸

The provincial tourism office names three main temples: Penataran Agung for Sang Hyang Widi Wasa, Kiduling Kreteg for Brahma and Batu Madeg for Wisnu.¹⁹ You will not see all of them on a short visit. A good guide picks a line through the complex that shows the split gates, the tiered meru towers and the view back down the valley. Ask to stop at the top terrace for a few minutes: on a clear morning the whole complex falls away below you towards the sea, and the scale of the place makes sense at last.

Official pages give slightly different heights: the provincial office places the temple over 900 m up the mountain, while the Ministry gives about 1,000 m.⁷ ¹ The difference depends on which terrace you measure. On the ground it hardly matters, because the scale is obvious the moment you reach the first gate.

The ritual calendar

How often the great ceremonies come round

Ceremony	How often	When or last held
Temple anniversaries	Each shrine yearly	At least 70 a year
Bhatara Turun Kabeh	Every year	Kedasa, around March to April
Panca Wali Krama	Every ten years	Grand purification
Eka Dasa Rudra	Every 100 years	Last held in 1979

From the Ministry of Tourism's Besakih page and Wikipedia's article on the temple, which follows the 210-day Pawukon year.²⁰ ²¹ ²² ¹⁵ ¹⁴

Tours that stop here

Besakih in a day, three ways

Bali: Besakih Temple & Lempuyang Temple Gates of Heaven Tour

This site's tour

East Bali day

With Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga

At Besakih: 1 hour
Hours: 9 to 10
Price: from $28

See the tour

Bali: Besakih Great Temple & Penglipuran Village Day Tour

Limited to 10

Small-group day

With Penglipuran village

At Besakih: 1 hour
Hours: 10
Price: from $68

See the tour

Bali: Besakih Temple with Waterfall & Rice Terrace Day Tour

Most time inside

Besakih and waterfall

With Tegallalang

At Besakih: 1.5 hours
Hours: 2 to 8
Price: from $21

See the tour

Decision helper

How should you fit Besakih into your trip?

Choose by what else you want from the day

The famous gate as well A small group, no crowds in the car As long as possible inside The temple at its quietest To see a great ceremony

The East Bali day

Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga and Besakih in 9 to 10 hours.

The small-group day

Limited to 10 participants, with Penglipuran village.

Besakih and waterfall

1.5 hours at the temple, after Tegallalang and a waterfall.

Go in the morning

The Ministry calls the early hours cooler and calmer.²³

March or April

Ida Bhatara Turun Kabeh falls in Kedasa every year.²¹

Since the Gelgel dynasty of the fifteenth century it has been regarded as a central, holy temple for the entire island.

Bali Provincial Tourism Office (Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi Bali)Source 8

From the first inscription to a near miss

The first written record of Besakih is an inscription dated 1007 AD.⁴ The provincial office speaks of a holy place since prehistoric times, long before any writing.⁷ By the 15th century the Gelgel kings had made it the state temple of the whole island.⁸

Its most dramatic moment came in 1963. A series of eruptions of Mount Agung killed about 1,700 people, and the lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters.¹³ The Balinese saw its survival as miraculous, a sign that the gods wished to show their power without destroying the temple, and it still shapes how people speak of the place today.²⁴ The volcano's most recent eruptions came from 2017 to 2019.¹⁷

Besakih was nominated as a World Heritage Site as early as 1995, but the nomination was withdrawn in 2015.¹⁶ That leaves it one of the few major Balinese sites without a UNESCO label, which changes nothing about its standing at home: for Balinese Hindus it is the centre, whatever the lists say.

Map

Where the temples stand on Bali

First the whole island with the temples on this site, then the slopes of East Bali around Lempuyang, then the river valley north of Ubud.

Map of Bali with Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga, Besakih, Tirta Empul, Goa Gajah, Ubud, Taman Ayun, Ulun Danu Beratan, Uluwatu and Kuta — The island

Map of East Bali with the Lempuyang gate, the summit temple of Lempuyang Luhur and the Tirta Gangga water palace — East Bali

Map of the valley north of Ubud with Tirta Empul, Gunung Kawi, Goa Gajah and Ubud Palace — Near Ubud

1
Lempuyang gate
The lowest of seven temples on Mount Lempuyang, where the split gate frames Mount Agung on a clear day.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
2
Tirta Gangga
A water palace built in 1948 by the King of Karangasem; a 1-hour stop of the site tour.²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
3
Besakih
The mother temple, on the slope of Agung at about 1,000 m, a complex of 23 temples.¹ ³
In Google Maps ↗
4
Tirta Empul
A spring temple founded in 962 AD, with 30 showers fed by the spring.²⁷ ²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
5
Goa Gajah
A carved cave about 27 km from Denpasar, named in a text of 1365.²⁹ ³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
6
Ubud Palace
Meeting point of the site tour's group options in Ubud.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Taman Ayun
The royal water temple of Mengwi, part of the UNESCO subak landscape inscribed in 2012.³¹ ³²
In Google Maps ↗
8
Ulun Danu Beratan
A lake temple in Candikuning, Tabanan, about 1.5 to 2 hours from Denpasar.³³ ³⁴
In Google Maps ↗
9
Uluwatu
A sea temple on a 70-meter cliff, with the kecak at 6:00 PM.³⁵ ³⁶
In Google Maps ↗
10
Kuta
Central Parking Kuta, the other group meeting point of the site tour.
In Google Maps ↗
11
Lempuyang Luhur
The highest of the seven temples, at about 1,175 m, 2 to 4 hours there and back on foot.³⁷ ³⁸
In Google Maps ↗
12
Gunung Kawi
Ancient shrines cut into a rock cliff above the Pakerisan River.³⁹
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you go up to Besakih

Bring

Cash for the ticket and a guide
Shoes for many stairs
Water

Respect

Stay out of closed inner courts
Give way to processions
Step around offerings

Cost calculator

Price a Besakih day for your group

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East Bali dayWith Lempuyangfrom $28 Small-group dayWith Penglipuranfrom $68 Besakih and waterfallLongest at the templefrom $21

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Total from$55

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The total is each temple day's lowest GetYourGuide price times your party size, shown in your currency at today's ECB rate; the booking page confirms the real amount.

Video

A visit to Besakih, the mother temple of Bali

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Festivals that fill the courts

Besakih has a busy calendar. Almost every shrine celebrates its own anniversary, and with the 210-day Pawukon calendar that adds up to at least 70 festivals a year.²⁰ The provincial office adds that on the full moon of the Balinese month Kedasa the entire compound celebrates the visit of the gods, with a great throng of pilgrims.⁴⁰

The largest yearly event is Ida Bhatara Turun Kabeh, held every year in the month of Kedasa, around March to April.²¹ Devotees arrive from across the island with offerings, and every court is in use. Larger rituals come round less often: Panca Wali Krama once every ten years, and Eka Dasa Rudra once every 100 years.²² ¹⁵ The last Eka Dasa Rudra was held in 1979.¹⁴

For a visitor, a festival is both the best and the hardest day to come. The Ministry advises avoiding Besakih during large ceremonies unless you are invited.⁴¹ If you happen upon one, stay on the edges, keep your camera low and let the processions through; the colours and the music will stay with you longer than any photo. Women carrying towers of fruit and flowers on their heads, priests in white and the gamelan in the outer court turn the stone terraces into something far closer to a village festival than a monument.

Tickets, sarong and the walk up

Every visitor must wear a sarong, called kamen, and a sash, which you can rent at the entrance if you do not bring your own.⁴² The Ministry's Besakih page puts the ticket at Rp60,000 to Rp100,000 including the sarong and sash, and suggests an optional local guide for Rp50,000 to Rp100,000.⁵

The Ministry's temple guide gives a higher figure, around IDR 150,000 for foreign nationals and IDR 80,000 for Indonesians.⁶ Fees here have risen and fallen, so carry enough cash for the higher figure plus a guide, and pay only at the official counter. If you book a tour, check whether your option includes the entrance fee, because the tour on this site includes it only on some options.

The visit is a climb. One Besakih tour notes about 200 steps to see the whole temple area. Shoes you can take off and put on quickly help, and so does water. The Ministry recommends the morning, when it is cooler and calmer on the mountain.²³

Getting there and the tours that stop here

Besakih lies in Besakih village, Rendang district, in the Karangasem regency of East Bali.² The Ministry puts it about a 2-hour drive from Ubud or 2.5 hours from Kuta.¹ The Ministry recommends a private driver or a tour because of the distance and the winding roads.⁶

The tour on this site ends its East Bali day at Besakih: after Lempuyang and Tirta Gangga it gives the mother temple 1 hour, then 1.5 hours by car back. It runs 9 to 10 hours, has 3,587 reviews averaging 4.79, and starts from $28.

If Besakih is your main goal, other listings give it more time. A small-group day limited to 10 people spends 1 hour at Besakih with Kertha Gosa, Bukit Jambul and Penglipuran, from $68. Another day gives Besakih 1.5 hours after Tegallalang and a waterfall, from $21.

Visiting with respect

Besakih is a working temple, and its courts may close during ceremonies. The tour notes for this site say inner areas may be restricted when a ceremony is on. Under the same notes, women who are menstruating may not enter the sacred temple areas.

Inside, keep to the paths, never climb on walls or shrines, and keep your voice low near people at prayer. Offerings on the ground are part of the ritual, not litter, so step around them. If a guide offers to take you into an inner court, ask first whether visitors are welcome there that day.

At nearby Lempuyang the Ministry notes that mornings give the clearest view of Agung and that fog may come down in the afternoon.⁴³ Combine the visit with a slow drive back through the rice terraces, or pair it with the gate at Lempuyang in one long day, and you will have seen the two temples that define East Bali. Leave room in the day for the unexpected, too: a ceremony on the road, a procession to the river or a village temple dressed for its anniversary is part of the same living religion you came to see.

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