Tour D

The tour begins in the town of Semarapura (formerly called Klungkung). Today you can still see the remains of the palace known as the Kertha Gosa Pavilion, once the supreme court of justice. Within the palace grounds there is also a floating pavilion. You can see the ceiling paintings depicting the punishments intended for adulterers, thieves and murderers.

We continue to the nearby local market. Away from tourism, you will see fruit, vegetables, spices, clothing, household goods and even animals being sold. We do not want to keep real Balinese life from you, which is why we next drive to my home village. My family lives here in a small house in idyllic surroundings. You get a genuine insight into Balinese everyday life and way of living, with its customs. A picturesque country road leads up to Mount Agung volcano. It is an active stratovolcano and, at 3,142 m, the highest point on Bali. When Agung erupted in 1963, more than 1,100 people died.

The volcano is revered as the seat of the gods and regarded as the centre of the world. Gods visiting Mount Agung are housed in the Besakih mother temple. The sacred temple lies almost 1,000 m above sea level at the foot of the volcano and is the next stop on the tour. It is the most important Hindu sanctuary on the island and the “mother temple” of all Balinese temples.