In the east of Bali, between Kusamba and Padang Bai, you can find another important temple; the Pura Goa Lawah (also known as the Bat Cave). This temple/cave offers you a strange sight. Thousands of bats are covering the walls and they are so packed that it looks like a waving mud bath. Next to the entrance of the temple are some small sacred objects covered in bat excrement and the smells are a bit overwhelming at the temple.

The Balinese Hindu believe that every once in a while a sacred python ‘Basuki’ enters the temple to feed itself with some bats. The Pura Goa Gajah is very important to the Balinese for the use of post-cremation ceremonies. The soul of the departed is called back from the sea and brought back to the Goa Lawah Temple in an urn. Then after some more rituals the urn is brought to the Besakih Temple (Mother Temple, see above). It is believed that the Bat Cave and the Mother Temple are connected with an underground tunnel of lava.

*tip: You might get disturbed by, sometimes annoying, sellers outside of the temple. To enter you have to pay a (small) entrance fee but a sarong and sash are provided before entering.