Tanah Lot is one microcosmic temple sitting atop solitary sliver of a floating land which ferocious ocean waves overflow on high tides. Its twenty kilometers afar from Denpasar sounds conveniently reachable, albeit the vernacular name encapsulates an esoteric rendition to foreign ears, a land in the middle of the sea. Whatever your interpretation is, Tanah Lot features wooing sunset above a lonely temple and undulating ripples; a mesmerizing panorama which the local spiritual devotion to Balinese sea gods ensures its long-lasting, sublime existence.



This piece of land uniquely pertains to ambivalent functions today. One is to entertain foreign travelers for the delightful panorama stretching over the coast, the temple, the yonder sea, and the flare sunset beneath somber clouds. A portrait of which retains how drops of tangerine gleams redress the solemn rocky-grey base in melancholic nuances, and how Tanah Lot, as the water raises and embraces the ground, seems to begin scuttling into the sea, plausibly returning to where it belongs. As a matter of fact, Tanah Lot to Balinese is no other than the Balinese sea gods' property, among the other six over water temples dotting on Bali sea coast. One rumor reveals that another sanctuary shall appear within eyesight as you put up an observation while roaming on one of them. Through an invisible line that strings the seven temples altogether, Bali coastal rim is safely protected in immortal's hands.



An interesting history that elicits about the temple establishment also attaches on Tanah Lot. It has been said and closely believed, Nirartha, a fifteenth century priest, once had ever lived in undisturbed hermitage on the delicate island piece. As his faith accumulated and yielded religious followers to take the same path over worshipping the Balinese sea gods, a temple was then commanded to build under Nirartha's consent. This enchanting shrine drew a new path of pilgrimage undertaken by devout Hindus initially, the very first tourists who witnessed Tanah Lot's beauty. Words permeated along the villages, cities, and even continents, resulting both believers and non-Hindus to pay a visit whenever they arrive in Bali. Fancy tales also grew out of the blue, one of which pointed out how Nirartha's forgotten scarf had transformed into an abiding snake which dwelled within Tanah Lot's cave, though up to now one bizarre snake still lives and hides within the same cave despite hundreds of years have passed by.



Dauntless temple guests often pat the sacred snake due to a hearsay belief that it will bring good luck unexpectedly. Indulging not only your visual pleasure, Tanah Lot's temple also never ceases its spiritual function, thus a faithful priest stays beside the shrine to bless every visitor with holy water. What matters the most, nevertheless, has always been Tanah Lot's picturesque sunset that is surely not to be missed. The huge offshore rock turns into a seemingly mini Atlantis which the mysterious sea threatens to drown when the full moon sets in. This exquisite setting imbued with imaginaries and divine purpose ranks Tanah Lot indisputably as an unparalleled exotic, ethereal place you will ever encounter in one's relatively short lifetime.