Tanah Lot is well known with tourists because of it’s special location; this temple is located on a big rock in the shore of the district Tabanan. This temple is only accessible when the tide begins to ebb and it can only be entered by the hindu. But as a toursit you can anjoy a great sunset with this temple on the foreground and the setting sun behind it.

From the Kuta area, Pura Tanah Lot is only about a 40 minutes drive (depending on the traffic). Before entering the the Tanah Lot temple you will have to pay an entrance fee (around Rp 5000) and witness many tourist shops and food stalls. The best, but also the worst, time to visit this temple is around sunset. The place looks amazing then, but ofcourse you will not be the only one there.

The (hi)story of the Tanah Lot temple is quite spectacular; it’s believed that, in the 16th century, a traveling priest named Dang Hyang Nirartha spotted a light on the coast and started to meditate there. The villagers where impressed by this man and decided to follow meditation lessons. A village leader became jealous of his popularity and made trouble with the priest. Nirartha was not pleased with it and decided to move the land where he meditated on into the sea. He threw his sashes in the sea and those became holy sea-snakes, which are believed to be still inside the underwater caves in the rock, to guard the temple from evil.

*tip: to enjoy a peaceful time ate the Tanah Lot temple, you better wake up early and visit it in the morning.