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Batukaru Ring Walk Project |
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BATUKARU RING WALK PROJECT (Bali)
'A BRAND NEW PROJECT IN MOTION.'
Gunung Batakau .
Sitting in the Wantilan late at night looking out at the view, Norm was telling me of the inevitable destruction of the National Park on the mountain behind us. Even though there are laws in place to protect this last remaining pristine forest in Bali, the traditions of cutting timber, taking wildlife are more difficult to address, after all it feeds the children. After a few late nights discussing the problem we came up with a plan for a possible alternative as a solution. This plan needed to address a number of issues, some traditional, some social, some financial, to arrive at an environmental coup. The alternative is a plan to make the national park and local culture valuable, by developing the 'RING WALK', a walking trail around the mountain on the boundary of the national park.
How do we achieve this without the destruction of the culture and keeping the walk economically sound?
Well ,the total journey would take up to 10 days, therefore the walk could be split into sections (this solves the social issue of the Adat) ,choose about 10 villages close to the walk to look after their own section of the walk. They each would know their own section well.Each section could choose the highlights, provide guides, accomodation and meals, evening traditional experiences eg. music and dance. A walker could start and finish their journey at any of these villages. A limit would be set on numbers of walkers per section at any one time. A central body could be formed where the representatives of each section would discuss the problems and report on the state of the walk as well as the impact it has on the local culture.
However, the most important issue is to educate the locals about the mountain and how to protect it from the traditional taking of flora and fauna.
This pristine rainforest covering 2,275-meter-high Gunung Batukau is the only wilderness rainforest region left on this densely populated island.
History of Batukaru
"Gunung Batukau is the second largest mountain on Bali (2.275 m), and only Gunung Agung is of higher religious importance. The slopes are covered with rainforest, apart from West Bali National park this is the only wilderness region of any significance left on the island. The mountain is located in the Tabanan district, and is an extinct volcano. On the southern slopes of the volcano, at 1.300 meters and surrounded by forest, lays the Pura Luhur Batukau temple. This is one of Bali's so called "sad-kahyangan" temple, a national or state temple. It is not so frequently visited by tourists because of the remote location, but the site of the temple below the mighty Batukau mountain makes this a really unique place. It was built to honor the spirits of lakes and mountains, and was the state temple for West Bali while Tabanan was an independent kingdom. Several "linga", symbols of fertility, where found here in 1920, indicating that this area has been a sacred place a long way back in history, before the temple was built. The legend says that the temple were founded by the Hindu sage Kuturan who proselytized on Bali in the 11th century. Statues found in a bathing place close by is identical with those found in Goa Gajah and is also a proof of this date. Another legend tells about how the temple in 1604 was attacked and destroyed by the king of Buleleng. The kings army was however forced on the run by millions of bees sent by the gods who protects the temple. The temple has in fact been destroyed, and was not rebuilt before 1959. The distance from Tabanan city along a bad, steep road is about 23 km. 2 km before the temple you will pass a small village called Wangaya Gede, Along the road from Tabanan you will also pass the hot springs of Yeh Panes which can be worth a visit, while you're in this area you should also visit the lovely Jatiluwih, with some of the most beautiful scenery on Bali. GUNUNG BATUKAU Except for Bali Barat National Park, the pristine rainforest covering 2,275-meter-high Gunung Batukau is the only wilderness region left on this densely populated island. Known locally as Coconut Shell Mountain, this inactive volcano is the most westerly of Bali's three highest summits and completely dominates the regency of Tabanan. On Batukau's slopes is Pura Luhur, one of the island's national sad-kahyangan temples, seldom visited by tourists because of its remote location in the middle of a montane forest. To climb Gunung Batukau, hire a guide in Wangaya Gede village two km south of Pura Luhur, Without a guide it is said to be very difficult to find the correct path through the warm, humid forest that grows almost all the way to the top. From the outer courtyard of the temple, walk 200 meters to a small river, then cross the bridge and turn north up the steep trail through a thick, damp, slippery forest to the top. Only birdsong is audible and only the trail visible during the five to six hour climb. Though climbing it in one go is possible, most climbers rent a tent from their guide and spend the night near the top, then they can also see the sunrise. The view from Gunung Batukau's overgrown summit is blocked by trees. A small temple of roofless stone shrines is on the top. Don't attempt this climb in the rainy season, and don't even try to reach Pura Luhur by road if you don't have a sturdy vehicle with a cooling system in good working order. If you're on a motorbike, you're going to get wet. Pura Luhur Batukau A unique, sacred mountain sanctuary and royal temple near the peak of Gunung Batukau, 23 km north of Tabanan, built to venerate deities of mountains and lakes. All the regencies of Bali maintain temples at the temple of Besakih except for the Tabanan princes, who have their ancestral temples here. Pura Luhur served as the state temple for all of western Bali when Tabanan was an independent kingdom, and even today every temple in western Bali has a shrine dedicated to it. When the archaeologist Hooykaas visited the site in the 1920s, he discovered a number of large upright linga, so it's presumed this place has served as a sanctuary since prehistoric times. Legend says the temple was founded by the Hindu sage Kuturan who proselytized on Bali in the 11th century. This date was corroborated in 1925 when Goris discovered statues in a nearby bathing place similar to those found at 11th century Goa Gajah. Legend has it that in 1604 the temple was attacked and partially destroyed by the raja of Buleleng, but his troops were beaten back by millions of bees unleashed by the protective spirits of the temple. Pura Luhur was not rebuilt until 1959, even though pilgrims had continued to worship in the rubble. The temple lies in a solitary clearing 1,300 meters above sea level, set amidst a garden of flowering frangipani and hibiscus, with a gigantic, uninhabited, humid tropical forest all around it. The site is often cool and has the highest rainfall on Bali. Not a very large complex, it consists of a main enclosure to the north, plus two smaller temple complexes tucked away in the forest. Within the complex are a number of symbolically distinct shrines, each representing a different Tabanan dynasty. Many of the shrines have been newly renovated, so the place has lost a bit of its charm. One of the few temples of its type on Bali, Pura Luhur is known as a pura taman, which means it has a bathing place and is maintained by a king. Note Pura Luhur's seven-tiered meru, similar in shape to a Thai stupa, dedicated to the god Mahadewa who presides over Gunung Batukau. The shrine also exalts Di Made, a ruler of Gelgel A.D. 1164-1686. A few meters east of the temple are steps leading past lichen-covered statues and demons down to a square artificial pool with a tiny island in the middle, a symbolic microcosm of the Hindu Mount Meru. On the isle are two bale, one dedicated to Gunung Batukau and the other to the deity of the three lakes—Tamblingan, Buyan, and Bratan—which stand within its catchment area. Nearby is a small temple and sacred air panas bubbling up from a riverbank. Several paths lead off into the forest, the domain of cicadas and frogs. If you get to Pura Lunur in the late afternoon you'll probably have the place all to yourself. If there's a ceremony going on, spend the whole day. Thousands of pilgrims journey to this remote pura during Umanis Galungan, (the day after Galungan). Regional water-opening rites are also held here; subak heads, pemangku, and klian carry small containers of its holy water back to their subak to bless similar ceremonies. Getting There and Away Public bemo only go to Pura Luhur on festival days but you can reach Jatuluwih (via Penebel) by bemo from where you can bargain with the driver to take you up to the temple. Board Jatuluwih-bound bemo from Tabanan's Tawakilang bemo station, two km north of Tabanan's center, leaving about every hour until noon. If driving yourself, first turn right a bit west of Tabanan and travel north on a steep narrow road up the southern slopes through lovely rice terraces and untouristed villages. Three km before the mid-sized market town of Penebel a turnoff west takes you to the hot springs of Yeh Panas, then on to Wangaya Gede, a village just two km south of Pura Luhur, and finally to the desa of Batukaru where Pura Luhur Batukau is located. Pura Luhur can also be reached from the main Mengwi-Bedugul road by taking the road east to Marga. These cool, jungled uplands have sublime landscapes, with green moss everywhere. "
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