Pura Ulun Danu Batur
Batur village, Kintamani, Bangli Regency, Bali, Indonesia
- Deities
- Dewi Danu (lake goddess), Vishnu
- Traditions
- vaishnava, folk_regional
- Worship status
- active
- Coordinates
- -8.23528, 115.375
- Darshan hours
- Generally open daily to visitors during daylight hours; sarong/sash required; confirm current hours locally, and note this is a functioning temple where some ceremonial areas may be restricted during rites.
- Best time to visit
- The annual odalan (temple anniversary festival), held on the tenth full moon of the Balinese pawukon calendar (typically late March/early April), draws the largest gatherings of worshippers.
- How to reach
- In Batur village near Kintamani, Bangli Regency, at roughly 1,459 m elevation near the caldera rim overlooking Mount Batur and Lake Batur; reachable by road from Ubud or Denpasar, commonly visited together with the Kintamani volcano viewpoint.
Location
Open in Google MapsPura Ulun Danu Batur is one of Bali’s most important directional temples (kahyangan jagat), sited on the caldera rim overlooking Lake Batur and the active volcano Mount Batur in Bangli Regency. Originally founded in the 17th century at the mountain’s southwest base, the temple was destroyed by Mount Batur’s catastrophic 1926 eruption, which also wiped out the nearby village of Karang Anyar; the surviving 11-tiered shrine was salvaged and the temple entirely rebuilt at its present, higher location by the end of that year. It is dedicated to Dewi Danu, goddess of the lake that supplies irrigation water across much of central Bali, reflecting the deep agricultural and spiritual significance of Lake Batur to Balinese Hindu life.
Today the temple complex comprises nine separate temples with roughly 285 shrines and pavilions, and remains an active site of worship distinct from the similarly named Pura Ulun Danu Bratan at Lake Bratan elsewhere on the island. Its major annual festival, the odalan, falls on the tenth full moon of the Balinese pawukon calendar, typically in late March or early April, drawing large numbers of worshippers to a temple that stands as a striking reminder of Balinese religious resilience in the face of volcanic disaster.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's account of Pura Ulun Danu Batur during verification pass: confirms the temple, originally established in the 17th century at the southwest base of Mount Batur, was destroyed when the volcano erupted in 1926 (which also destroyed the village of Karang Anyar); confirms the surviving 11-tiered shrine was relocated and the temple rebuilt at its present site by the end of that year; confirms it is dedicated to Dewi Danu, goddess of Lake Batur, and (per the source) also honors Vishnu; confirms its ranking as one of Bali's directional temples (kahyangan jagat); confirms the compound today comprises nine separate temples with roughly 285 shrines and pavilions, and that its annual odalan falls on the tenth full moon of the Balinese calendar.
For review
- This temple, at Lake Batur/Mount Batur, is a separate and distinct site from Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (at Lake Bratan, elsewhere in Bali), which is already documented separately in this directory; the two share a naming convention ("Ulun Danu" = "lake source/head") common to Balinese lake temples but are not the same building.