Pulaki Sacred Temple in Bali

This is another fascinating Hindu temple located in North Bali, situated on the left side of the road if you travel from Singaraja town, the capital town of North Bali, to the west. If you travel from Denpasar, it will take about three hours. If you go through the west via Negara ( a town in West Bali) you will go through the Bali Barat National Park which is very suitable for trekking site.

Pulaki Temple

The Pura Agung Pulaki temple is meant to be the commemoration of the arrival of the Javanese priest Nirartha to Bali in the early 16th century. The temple is situated about 7 km from Pemuteran and an hour drive (48 km) from Singaraja. The temple is one of the six most holy temples of Bal. This temple is situated on the flat plateau with rocky hills as a backdrop. The grey rocks behind the temple rise up like a cliff. Just in front of the temple is a road that separates the Pulaki temple 25 meters from the nortern blue sea.

The jungle behind the temple are home of many monkeys (macaques). Balinese people believe that when Danghyang Nirartha lived here, the macaques accompanied him into the dense jungle. Because of their respect for him, they lived in the temple as guardians.

The history of Pulaki Temple

The gate of Pulaki temple which was made of black stones was founded in 1983 and was blessed with a religious ceremony. People took holy water from several temples in East Java and Lombok for the ceremony. The shrines and ornaments of this sacred temple are mainly black colored. Similar to other temples in Bali, Pura Pulaki divided into three courtyards, Jaba, outer court, Jaba Tengah, center courtyard and Jeroan, the forecourt.
When you come into the temple, there are three stages. Once in the middle courtyard, you see on the left and right side of the temple the green jungle hills and behind you is the blue sea. You’ll still have to walk up on more stairs to get to the main courtyard where people pray. The main courtyard is crowded with the monkeys which wait patiently for people who will feed them with fruits or cakes. The local people have been used to the monkeys and they can pray quietly.

From the upper part of the temple complex, you can see more magnificent panorama. You will be seduced by the wonderful scenery of the ocean and the hills. The sound of the sea will give you peaceful feeling if you stroll on a warm sunny day.
To enter the temple complex you have to put on a Balinese sarong and sash. You can rent these near the entrance gate for a little amount of money.