batur volcano

The Batur volcano is another active volcano which is also a tourist attraction. The volcano is located inside a 12 km wide and 450 m deep prehistoric caldera, beside a crescent-shaped lake. Altogether, the volcano, caldera and lake add up to an impressive sight. Legends say that the Batur volcano is actually the peak of the Mahameru mountain in India that was removed by the God Pasupati.

He carried two pieces of the peak and put it in Bali to use them as thrones. The bigger piece became the Agung volcano, which is a throne for his son, Putranjaya, and the smaller became the Batur volcano, which is the throne of Goddess Danu,

Nearby the volcano is the Batur temple, also called the Ulun Danu temple. It is said that the temple had existed since the 10 th century up to the beginning of the 11 th century. Before the eruption in of the volcano in 1917, the temple was located on the north-eastern slope of the Batur volcano. After the highly destructive incident, what remains of the temple were moved to the present location, which is in Kalanganyar, 900 meters above the Kintamani district. The village,that was also destroyed by the eruption, was also moved to a safer place near the temple. The highest shrine in the Batur temple is dedicated to the Goddess Danu, a manifestation of God who has power over the lakes and waters, and, naturally, over the fertilization and lives of the crops

If you plan to take the narrow Sayan-Kedewatan road at around 3 in the evening, along the eastern border of Ubud, you can enjoy beautiful views such as the Ayung river valley,


the Bali women doing their daily activities with effortless grace, and, if you arrive just in time, around 3 km outside Kintamani, you could see three majestic peaks of mountains: the Agung volcano, the Batur volcano and the Abang mountain, in the light of sunset.

Once in every five years, a ceremony called the Pemayuh Toya is held in order to bring back the sacredness of the water in Batur lake. The lake holds a very vital function for Bali as a whole. It is the main source of water in the traditional irrigation system, called Subak. An ancient scripture once said that the Batur lake irrigates the island through underground channels and a photograph was from the air using imaging technology in 1962 had proven that the underground channels really does exist. Unfortunately, the lake's surface have been receding in the last few years. Around 4 km outside of Kintamani, another beautiful and interesting temple called the Puncak Penulisan temple could be found.