Lost and found in Northern Bali

We leave Bali’s popular Ubud behind to discover monkeys, holy men, underwater ruins and a new perspective in Northern Bali.

- JUSTIN MENEGUZZI

Of all the waiting rooms I’ve been in, Pura Lempuyang Temple is by far the most spectacular. Instead of white walls and fluorescent lights, I’m sitting beneath an open sky flecked with clouds tickled pink by the morning sun. I’m not here to see a doctor; this appointment is of a more spiritual kind. You could call it a check-up for the mind and soul. My guide, Andy, has arranged for me to meet with a holy man to learn more about the temple, one of the six holiest sanctuaries in Bali, and Hinduism, the predominant religion of Bali. “Understand Hinduism,” Andy tells me, “and you will understand Bali.”

Like all doctor’s appointments, there is a wait but I’m happy to be outside soaking up the views. Looking out across the valley, the temple’s famous heavenly arches frame a distant volcano erupting from primordial jungles. There’s a stillness here that’s almost meditative.

I say “almost” because uncoiling away from the arch is a small line of tourists waiting, phones in hand, for their turn to take a photo. A man sitting on a brick offers his services in exchange for a tip. I watch as he obligingly snaps one couple feigning nonchalance, laughing theatrically and pointing at the view with backs to camera. After checking their photos, the tourists quickly leave without a second glance at the intricately carved stonework beside them.

“It was not this way three years ago,” says Ketut Cara as he arrives to welcome me to the temple. The holy man is dressed head to toe in white linen and exudes a calm warmth. He tells me the temple has become a magnet to travellers after being made famous by influencers on Instagram.

“Now signs have appeared asking tourists not to fly their drones, and a new car park was built to handle the amount of traffic. It’s almost as though people have forgotten why this temple was created.”