Pura Lempuyang Lehur: Mountains and Monkeys (Bali, Indonesia)
After spending a relatively fast-paced few days in the Gili Islands (by Indonesian standards, that is), it was off to Pura Lempuyang to climb a few thousand steps!
We headed to Pura Lempuyang shortly after we hopped off our loud "fast boat" and touched down on the shores of Bali. The fast boat was more like a jet powered water devil, but, safety aside, we got there quickly. The waves were just as tall as our last little trip on the Bali Sea, but this boat was a little more sturdy than our last boat.
We weren't interested in the touristy offerings of Kuta, Bali, so we bypassed Kuta and headed straight for Amed. Amed is an up-and-coming tourist area in Bali, but not yet ruined by the influx of said touristry. Consider that it was only about ten to fifteen years ago that paved roads came to this destination.
Amed refers to a coastline of about 15 kilometres, and constitutes about seven villages in all: Amed, Jemeluk, Bunutan, Lipah, Selang, Banyuning and Aas. It's as quaint a coastline as you'll hope to find, and worth stopping by if you happen to find yourself on Bali.
With blue skies overhead one fine morning, we decided to rent a surprisingly quick Honda scooter and make our way to Lempuyang Lehur Temple or Pura Lempuyang Lehur. The rice terraces along the way made for a rather scenic drive. I took this photo while pulled tightly to the side of the road still on my scooter as other scooters and cars whipped past me. Yeah, it was worth it.
By the way, if you're already on Bali, you might want to check out the The Lush Tegalalang Rice Terraces of Bali. Anyway you look at it, there are so many things to do on Bali.
Some Background on the Famous Pura Lempuyang
The temple, and the subsequent mountain, are located in the Karagasaem Regency of Bali, which is in the East. The temple itself is noted as being one of the six major temples on Bali along with Watukaru Temple, Andakasa Temple, Uluwatu Temple, Besakih Temple, and Ulun Danu Batur Temple.
We arrived via scooter to the base of the Pura Lempuyang and bought a few assorted snacks, as well as some water and pocari sweat (essentially Asia's Gatorade. Lovely name, I know) for the hike. The walk up to the summit is about two thousand steps, and the stairs are strewn with fellow people on their pilgrimage, shrines, and more monkeys that one could reasonably fathom. These monkeys get quite aggressive. I had to fend off a monkey with my makeshift sword (a stick I found on the ground) when it tried to attack Bri for her pocari sweat. To be honest, with the right amount of hissing and teeth showing, the monkey won the battle, and she tossed her pocari sweat to the creature as we jetted off into the canopied forest.
Pura Lempuyang Lehur is said to have been established sometime around the tenth century, but no one is quite certain, which adds to the mystique. Our hike ended up taking a little longer than expected, but that's largely because we had to stop frequently to absorb the views. There were vantage points galore, especially of Mount Agung, the highest point on the island. Not to mention, we had to do the hike with a sort of fishtail version of a sari that loosely covered our legs. This, in a showing of respect for the Hindu pilgrimage. I broke a sweat during the walk, but every drop was worth it. As were the approximately two thousand steps.
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Getting to the Top of Pura Lempuyang
I’m not going to lie, it was a decent workout to get to the top of Pura Lempuyang, but it’s very manageable. I’d just remember to bring a filled bottle of water with you for the hike up, but take notice that there are monkeys present on the way to the top so just be mindful that they may try to get a sip if they think it’s a sugary beverage!
In fact, Bri bought a pocari sweat near the top of Pura Lempuyang from a vendor, and a monkey nearly attacked her, so be weary!
As I mentioned before, this is a few thousand steps, so also make sure that you’ve got a little snack, as it’ll be a good idea to eat a little something when you get to the top of Pura Lempuyang.
When we were hiking Pura Lempuyang, I was absolutely drenched. Fair play, I’m naturally a pretty sweaty guy, but I was pouring sweat on this hike. It doesn’t help that you have to wear something to cover bare skin either, but better to be hot and respectful than have better airflow and be disrespectful.
You learn little Bali travel tips like that if you spend enough time there.
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Why Was Climbing Pura Lempuyang Worth It?
As you can see the views of Pura Lempuyang were stunning, so I think that speaks for itself, but it’s about more than that.
Pura Lempuyang, at the peak of Mount Lempuyang, is one of the “Sad Kahyangan Jagad” or the, roughly translated, the “6 sanctuaries of the world.” What that means is that it is one of the six holiest places of worship on Bali, which is an island that is considered immensely important to Hindus around the world.
When you’re visiting a place like Bali, I think it’s your obligation to pay respects to the customs and ways of life of the people, and I feel taking the time to appreciate the significance of Pura Lempuyang is part of that.
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Bali, to me, was exactly what I was looking for and a large part of that was absorbing the views offered by places like Pura Lempuyang. I would go as far as saying that getting the top of Mount Lempuyang is an absolute must. I know that our experience just wouldn’t have been the same had we not done this.
So, go to Bali, get to Pura Lempuyang and soak it all in, it’ll be worth the sweat it takes, I can personally attest to that.
If you appreciated this post or found it useful, I’d love it if you left a comment below. I loved my time climbing Pura Lempuyang, and I’d love to hear how your experience was. I respond to each and every comment, so you can be sure I’ll get back to you.