Besakih Temple

Besakih Temple, over 900 meters up the slopes of Mount Agung, is the largest and most sacred Hindu temples in the island. It is named after Naga Besukian, the dragon god thought by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit Mount Agung, the highest mountain in Bali. Besakih Temple has been regarded as a central, holy temple for the entire island since the Gelgel Dynasty of the 15th century. Today, it is referred by all Balinese as the mother temple of Bali.
Over a thousand years and more, Besakih Temple was extended to the present complex of about 30 temples. There are three main temples within Besakih Temple; Pura Penataran Agung, dedicated to Sang Hyang Widi Wasa. Inside the main courtyard stands the three-seated shrine enthroning the Trisakti, the trinity of Brahma, Visnu and Siwa. During festivals the shrines are wrapped in colored cloth symbolic of the deities.

The other two main temples are Pura Kiduling Kreteg, dedicated to Brahma; and Pura Batu Madeg, dedicated to Wisnu.

For Balinese people, a visit to the temple sanctuaries at Besakih is a special pilgrimage. Each temple has its own anniversary ceremony (Odalan) and on the full moon (Kedasa) the entire compound of Besakih commemorates the visit of the gods with an enormous mass of visiting pilgrims.