Bali : Tanah Lot Temple

When we were holidaying in Club Med Bali last year in September, we took the opportunity to take a half day guided tour to Tanah Lot Temple.

Why specifically Tanah Lot Temple? It's because it is probably one of the iconic tourist site in Bali and no one who visited Bali should miss. Secondly, I saw so many scenic pictures of this place and being a keen photographer, this is the place that I told myself that I must go and visit.

Tanah Lot is located approximately 20km from Denpasar. Tanah Lot literally means "Land in the Sea" and that is what it actually is. It is an interesting rock formation standing out from the sea, on which a temple was reportedly built in the 15th century by a priest by the name of Niratha.

Tanah Lot is reported to be one of the seven temples in Bali, all within close range of each other. The other that I managed to visit nearby is the Pura Batu Balung Temple which is within sight from Tanah Lot Temple. It is another magnificent sight, a temple built on a rocky volcano outcrop formation with a hole in the center jutting into the ocean and the name literally means that .."rock with hole"

This site is a popular spot for beautiful and awesome pcitures of sunset. I originally wanted to visit this site in the evening to catch one of those beautiful scene. However, I was advised against it as it can be very crowded in the evening and the weather might not hold to view a sunset. Hence, we took the half day tour from Club Med in the morning instead.

The journey from Club Med to Tanah Lot took us well over one hour because of the morning hour rush. This place is definitely very (if not overly commercialised). There were souvenirs selling shops and locals pushing souvenirs at every nook and corner.

But once, you get past all these, the sight of the temples, the rock formation and the seascape is simply magnificent.

I would definitely want to come back for that sunset picture that I have yet to capture.....