The Gates of Heaven BALI

Few things are as beautiful as the view from the Pura Lempuyang Temple, where the heavens meet the earth. Situated on top of Lempuyang Montain, which sits directly across from the active volcano Mt Agung. The best time to get there is sunrise to avoid disappointment. I arrived at 6.45am by scooter from Amed... two minutes before the deadly magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked Lombok! Timing!

I wasn't really sure what was happening in the moment, but the mountain was violently shaking. It didn't seem like any of the locals really knew what was going on either as I looked around at their panic stricken faces. It seemed that the locals thought that Mount Agung was erupting, everyone was terrified and screaming. 

But after a few moments it was all over and I managed to make it up to the first temple, to get this shot...

There are six temples at Lempuyang, known as "the six sanctuaries of the world" and are considered the most holiest places of worship in Bali, the top one being the highest on the island. It takes 4 hours to walk to the top, I might have been a bit more eager to explore had it not been for the earthquake. My heart was still racing and I felt like I need to get out off the mountain and back down to Amed. Just in time for breakfast, where the owner of the bungalow seemed hardly phased at all.

Nx