Exploring Pura Rambut Siwi in west Bali

Pura Rambut Siwi is one of the coastal temples in Bali and is perched on a cliff in the west of the island.

It is not however one of the 9 ‘kayangan jagat’ or directional temples that protect Bali from evil spirits in all directions.

Amazingly Barrie had never been to this temple before and was dying to see it. I has stopped about a year ago but took off after feeling the staff were a bit pushy. ‘Must be my own short temper’ I thought.

Riding out to Pura Rambut Siwi from Kuta is easy as we followed the Sunset Rd Bypass to Kerobokan, then headed in the direction of Tanah Lot, turning off at Beraban, up to Kediri and towards Tabanan. The trip took about 2 hours and passed some lovely sweeping rice terraces close to the ocean in Suka Beach.

The rented Kijang was a real junker and had no AC. Murphy’s Law made sure this day was a total scorcher. We settled for the ‘2/80 air conditioning system’ (rolled 2 windows down and did 80 kmh ). The road from Tabanan heading west is the man road to Java so that means heavy traffic. I suggest rolling your windows up and cranking the AC if you do this trip yourself.

Arriving at Pura Rambut Siwi which is located 16km west of Medewi, we noticed the temple sign on the main road and the snack sellers outside balancing large baskets o their heads. A small road heading perpendicular to the main road led us to the temple which overlooks the ocean. We saw some activity under the wantilan (main pavilion ) where ladies in traditional costume were preparing offerings for the ‘odalan‘ (annual temple ceremony).

Barrie was checking out the front of the temple when a banjar guy told him to come to the office. We had to make a donation of 10,000rp each to enter, sarongs and sashes were provided, or ordered (Barrie has his own but the guy said he had to use the ones provided as part of the fee).

Once inside the temple our guide stayed in close proximity telling us where to go which really got up Barrie’s nose. I guess my memory of this place was accurate.

The temple itself has the usual 3 courtyards (outer, middle, inner) its just laid out differently and the inner courtyard is actually the one that sits next to the parking area.

The temple was founded in the 16th Century by a Hindu priest from Java named Niratha. He loved the location and after building the temple spent his time spreading the Hindu religion in the Bali. Before he left the temple he gave a lock of his hair and a set of his clothes which are supposedly still at Pura Rambut Siwi stored in the inner courtyard. The temple is now known as ‘the temple for worshipping the hair’ .

Our guide left us in the outer courtyard and gave instructions for how we should proceed. On the rear of the temple Barrie pointed out some interesting traditional scenes captured in cement carvings. These included a scene with a farmer, a fisherman and a monkey holding bird under its arm, all symbolic. When asked he told me that the underlying stonework was probably from the time of Niratha but the cement carving are more likely to be around 100 years old.

I have seen my fair share of temple now and can tell some of the older parts versus the later ‘add-ons’ Usually the main parts if the temple, the gates and ornamentation are old, whereas brickwork that is clean and carvings that are super sharp are probably new.

Also at the rear of the temple were steps with large dragon like creatures either side. Dragons aren’t a part of Balinese Hinduism and we didn’t have an answer for this or the plate sized Chinese coin that is in the outer wall of the inner compound. Carved decorated doors had figures in impressive designs.

Looking over the cliff a shrine was visible and we immagined what it looked like at high tide with the water totally surrounding it.

Entering the inner courtyard we saw the central meru was decorated. The ‘odalan’ is coming up and we were thinking that the lock of hair and clothes of Niratha might be in there.

While photographing the different parts of the temple a female ‘pedanda‘ (high priest) came over and asked us to leave…’Bules not allowed in here.” she said in Balinese. I think she might have been pissed that we saw her secret ceremonial equipment laid out, something that doesn’t happen too often.

Candika engaged her in conversation for a couple of minutes so Barrie and I could finish snapping. We thanked her and left.

This part of the coast isn’t developed at all and looked quite lovely with the swaying palms. We were all virtually melting from the heat and bought a Pocari Sweat from a vendor outside. I think the can of drink cost 5,000rp whereas the Circle K price is 4,000rp.

I was dreading climbing back into the sweat box of a car I hired but it wasn’t too bad. We swapped 90f degree humidity for a lung full of diesel and headed off to explore the mountains. We followed the ridgeline route that Ika and my brother Chris had done a while ago and passed through the banyan tree with the hole in. It’s a lovely ride for anyone considering it.

This day trip started around 10am in Kuta and we got back around 6pm. My junker car cost 125,000rp for the day although I have driven much better cars for that price.

• Chinese coin in the wall of the temple at Pura Rambut Siwi west Bali
• Trip to Jembrana west Bali
• Sunday ride in Central Bali
• More photos from Ubud
• Trip with Barrie and Candika to Pura Rambut Siwi in west Bali

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