Uluwatu Temple (Pura Luhur Uluwatu), Bali, Indonesia

Uluwatu is one of the top 3 temples in Bali and is said to be a must visit. It built at a great location- I am very happy some created a temple in this place else some businessman/realtor would have created a luxury resort here for private gains.

I entered this Uluwatu temple complex along with Raja Selvam. Parking was free, we had to buy a ticket worth 30000 IDR per person. Since both of us were fully dressed, there was no need for us to wear a covering cloth (Sarong), however we were given a small piece of cloth to tie around our waist as a respect for god, which we complied. The ticket counter guy was also kind enough to let us keep the bike helmet there.

Soon after entering there was a ticket checking point. But for many tourists it wasn't clear that these people are merely there to check your ticket. Many confronted them saying "We already bought ticket". If Indonesia tourism can consider giving a small flyer with map and basic information about the place along with the ticket, it will help tourists a lot (this is common practice in Europe). We proceeded further on our own and were greeted by this statue of Kumbakarna


The temple campus was relatively empty at the time of our entry. We first took a walk on its periphery- Uluwatu is located on a tall cliff and there's ocean deep down- the look can scare you if you have altitude sickness. Steps are built all along the edge, so it makes for a great walk. Take a look at the photos


There is also a nice open amphitheater inside Uluwatu campus

A photo with Raja Selvam

Unfortunately we couldn't go inside the temple- few entry points like this were locked. Either they open late or tourists are not allowed inside.

Also we got our timing wrong. Uluwatu temple is located on the west side, which means it is best visited during sunset time. Could have got a more dramatic skies and pictures if it was evening. So that would be my action item for next visit.

We discussed that if this was Switzerland, there would have been few trams/cable cars ferrying tourists from top of the cliff to beach below and back, for an exorbitant fee...

We spent about an hour or so around the temple complex before proceeding to explore the beaches nearby.