Goa Lawah

The Goa Lawah Temple, located in the Klunkung district, Bali province, the temple is considered one of the main « shrines of the world » or holy places of worship of Bali. The temple is built around a large cave in which bats or bats live, in honor of them it is named « bats cave ».

Temple history

The temple of the cave with bats was laid in the 11th century, by the monk Mpu Kuturan, he was the first to preach Judaism on the island. Until that time, the locals did not have a certain religion, in different villages they worshiped various spirits. Bats or bats in Bali are considered sacred animals and enjoy special reverence among the population. Many priests at different times used a sacred place for meditation.

Initially, the Goa Lawahh Temple was an altar for offerings, it was installed opposite the entrance to the cave, in respect and reverence for the spirits living in the cave. The other side of the altar was turned to the sea, in respect of the gods and spirits of the sea.

Over time, different buildings appeared around the altar, the decoration of the temple also changed over time. Today, the territory is a large-scale complex that directly connects with the sea coast. The complex is divided into several yards. All buildings are made of black volcanic stone, the earth is paved with stone in places, and in places is covered with lawn. In one of the yards there is a statue of the dragon, people believe that it guards not only the Goa Lawah temple, but the whole island.

In the far yard there is a cave with bats. There are a huge number of them, part is located on the outer walls of the cave. Inside the cave is lively even during the day, the mice fly from place to place, communicate with each other. Most visitors are only allowed to look into the main hall. In the evenings, temple ministers and pilgrims bring fruit to the cave to feed the mice.

Temple Legends

Naturally, such a place as the Goa Lawah temple is surrounded by many different legends. On one of them, in addition to bats, snakes — nagi live in the cave, they have the body and head of a person, and a snake tail. Nagi guard the treasures that are hidden in the depths of the cave. They say that at the beginning of the 20th century, Dutch soldiers wanted to capture the Goa Lawah temple and find treasures. Nagi took them to flight, according to another legend, instead of snakes in a cave, a dragon hides.

According to another legend, the cave has an underground passage, its depth is more than 20 km., But it leads to the foot of the Agung volcano. Local residents tell a story about a rooster that wandered into the cave and disappeared, and then was found, just at the volcano.

There is another story, according to it, the entrance to another world is hidden in the cave. In the depths of the cave, indeed, people and animals once disappeared, there is information that once a whole group of scientists and a priest did not return from there.

The Goa Lawah Temple is of great interest to tourists. Spectacular holidays are often held on its territory. There are always many merchants at the gates of the temple, they offer various souvenirs, but they don’t enter the complex, apparently it’s a sin to trade in the sacred land.