Besakih Temple, Bali, Indonesia

Besakih Temple, is a pura complex in the village of Besakih, on the slopes of Mount Agung, in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It is the most important, the largest, and holiest temple of Balinese Hinduism, and one of a series of Balinese temples. Perched nearly 1000 meters, up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23, separate but related temples, with the largest and most important, being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance, is marked by a candi bentar (split gateway), and beyond it the Kori Agung, is the gateway to the second courtyard.

The precise origins of the temple are unclear, but its importance as a holy site, almost certainly dates from prehistoric times. The stone bases of Pura Penataran Agung, and several other temples resemble, megalithic stepped pyramids, which date back at least 2,000 years.

It was certainly used, as a Hindu place of worship from 1284, when the first Javanese conquerors, settled in Bali. By the 15th century, Besakih had become a state temple of the powerful, Gelgel dynasty.

Pura Besakih, is a complex made up of twenty-three temples, that sit on parallel ridges. It has stepped terraces, and flights of stairs, which ascend to a number of courtyards, and brick gateways that in turn lead up to the main spire, or Meru structure, which is called Pura Penataran Agung. All this is aligned along a single axis, and designed to lead the spiritual person upward, and closer to the mountain, which is considered sacred.

The main sanctuary of the complex, is the Pura Penataran Agung. The symbolic center of the main sanctuary, is the lotus throne, or padmasana, which is therefore, the ritual focus of the entire complex. It dates to around, the seventeenth century.

A series of eruptions, of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people, also threatened Pura Besakih. The lava flows missed the temple complex, by mere meters. The saving of the temple, is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods, that they wished to demonstrate their power, but not destroy the monument, the Balinese faithful had erected.

Each year, there are at least seventy festivals, held at the complex, since almost every shrine, celebrates a yearly anniversary. This cycle is based on the 210-day, Balinese Pawukon calendar year.

As early as 1995, it had been nominated as a World Heritage Site, but was withdrawn in 2015.