A Temple Isolated in the Middle of a Lake - The Temple of Gubug

Besides the sea and paradisiacal beaches, Bali also hides, inland, extraordinarily beautiful lakes. Of the five lakes that dot the island, Tamblingan Lake stands out for it mystic charm. Positioned North of Mount Lesung in a hidden area of the mountain village of Munduk, Tamblingan stretches across a high plain within an ancient volcanic caldera with the other two large Balinese lakes, Buyan and Bratan. Immersed in a rural context among rice paddies and coffee plantations, it is protected by the Batukaru Nature Reserve. The fog that surrounds it during certain hours of the day, accompanied by the coloured reflections of trees in its water, give this lake an enchanted atmosphere, especially in the early morning hours. Among the numerous temples on the lake, the Temple of Gubug rests undisturbed in this fairy-tale environment, a temple in the traditional Balinese style, dedicated to the water god Dewi Danu. Its isolated position on the shore of the lake make it look abandoned, but it’s this particularity that makes it even more intriguing, a real attraction for hikers and religious pilgrims alike. It is said that this temple was built following the ravages of a disease that struck the village of Gubug for which the inhabitants found, in the waters of the lake, the medicine (tamba) that cured the ill.