Trunyan Village and Kehen Temple Rituals and Mystics Tour Bali

Lake Batur and the Kintamani highlands

The tour climbs from the south of the island into the Kintamani highlands, where the vast Batur caldera holds Lake Batur, the largest crater lake in Bali, at the foot of the active Mount Batur volcano. The landscape of black lava fields, steep crater walls and small farming villages is part of the Batur UNESCO Global Geopark, and the lake is sacred to the Balinese as a source of water for the island's rice fields.

During the drive your guide introduces Bali Aga culture and the concepts of Sekala, the visible world, and Niskala, the invisible world of spirits and ancestors, which shape daily life in these villages. From a lakeside pier you board a small boat for the crossing to the eastern shore; the ride across the calm water, with the volcano rising behind you, is one of the most scenic moments of any Kintamani day trip.

Trunyan Village and its burial tradition

Trunyan is one of the oldest settlements in Bali, a Bali Aga village pressed between the lake and the crater wall and reachable mainly by boat. Its people kept customs from before the arrival of Hindu-Javanese influence, and the village is known for a burial tradition unlike anywhere else on the island. Instead of cremation, certain members of the community are laid to rest above ground under the sacred Taru Menyan tree, inside simple bamboo enclosures.

Local belief holds that the fragrant tree keeps the air of the burial ground clean. The visit is led with care: this is a real resting place, photography may be restricted, and visitors are asked to stay quiet and respectful, follow the guide and never touch ceremonial items. A Trunyan village tour is a moving experience that some travellers find emotionally intense, so it is best suited to those comfortable learning about death rituals.

Bayung Gede village and its birth traditions

Back on the western side of the caldera, the road leads to Bayung Gede, another ancient Bali Aga village in the highlands of Kintamani. Its quiet lanes are lined with traditional houses arranged in neat rows, and the village is regarded as one of the ancestral settlements of the mountain communities, with a social life still organised around old village temples and customary councils.

Bayung Gede is best known for its birth customs. After a baby is born, the placenta is placed in a coconut shell and hung from trees in a special grove outside the village, a practice that expresses the bond between the child, its spiritual siblings and the land. Your guide explains the meaning of these rituals and how they differ from the rest of Bali, while you walk through the village and see daily life in a highland community.

Kehen Temple in Bangli

The day ends at Pura Kehen, the great temple on a hillside above the town of Bangli and once the state temple of the Bangli kingdom, with origins traced back around a thousand years. A long stairway lined with carved statues climbs to the entrance gate, which is why the highlights speak of the steps of heaven. The temple rises in three terraced courtyards, each higher and more sacred than the last.

In the first courtyard stands a giant ancient banyan tree with a wooden alarm-drum tower built into its branches, and the walls are decorated with old porcelain plates set into the stone. The upper courtyard holds an eleven-tiered meru shrine. Plan around an hour for the Kehen Temple visit; dress with shoulders and knees covered, and note that women who are menstruating may not enter temple areas according to Balinese custom.