Some past weekends, I went to Tista village, Abang district, Karangasem regency. Not for weekend actually, but I did find some interesting side of this place. Tista is located 30 km from Denpasar city. It given me beautiful view, friendly people, clean and nice weather, and a hidden treasure!
There was an ancient and almost abandoned temple up in the hill of Tista village. Nobody (at least, local people accompanied us) knows the exact name of this temple. Some said it was Gunung Sari temple. Gunung means mountain, Sari is essence/ flower bud. Other told me, it was Mekah temple. Probably Mekah word is derived from Me-Akah. In Balinese, Akah means root, me-akah means rooted.
There was a tree grows on the rock cliff behind one of the shrines. It must be a tough tree. With incredible tough root. What tree it was? The same. No one knew.
Any way…
I took some pictures around.
A stairway to heaven (I know, I exaggerated a bit)…to the temple actually.
Another stairway with dragon statue, not European style with those wings, but Balinese style with the India’s influence(looks like a huge giant snake).
A close-up dragon.
Someone in the past had carved a shrine into the rock.
Ancient wood sculptures as part of a shrine.
Lingga, in the ancient civilization was believed as the representation of God (Ciwa).
I assumed this temple was devoted to the God Ciwa as the God of creator. So far (even today), I still have no idea the name of this ancient temple. It remains a mystery. Up in the hill of Tista village.
A Simple Note 
It really looks so mysterious, but I like the quietness of the temple you captured in those pictures. Hope that I can go there someday
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Hi, Chris. It is a good place to runaway from the routine of big and crowded city. You would love its calming atmosphere.
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Great photo’s with excellent detailing. All the interesting aspects around the Temple are explained very well with suitable narration. I smiled when I read ‘India’s influence’ 🙂 and we too have a river named Teesta in our north eastern sector.
Thank you so much for this lovely post and the fact that you yourself trekked up to all the way is commendable.
Kind regards 🙂
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Thank you, Dilip. It is an India’s influence, I’ve googled about Balinese and Javanese dragon’s sculpture. Another same thing of Bali and India: Tista and Teesta. It always gets my interest when I find something same or similar between Bali and other region or country.
Kind regards, too :).
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Another interesting similarity Indah – for Civa and Lingga and we say the Shiva and the Shivlinga! 🙂
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Yes, Dilip. Don’t forget that our (Balinese) Hindu originally comes from India! It explains many things refer to similarities :).
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Wonderful photos. This looks like a very fascinating place to visit. I’d be hard pressed anymore to make it up all those steps, though! 🙂
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But, once you get there. Your effort is worth it ;).
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Wow! What a place! I’d love to see it and spend some time going around it, lucky you Ida you have that so near home! The pics are great, you can really feel the peace and beauty of the place. Thank you.
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Its tranquility is amazing. The weather too is still very fresh. Thanks for stopping by, Paco.
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Thats fascinating, a hidden temple and the stairs uphill makes it even special! Hope i will see it myself when visiting Bali..
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You should. That is another side of Bali, Indah. Other than our wonderful underwater view ;).
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Hello Ida i would love to visit this amazing temple when I come to bali? I’m going to be doing alot of exploring when I come? can you recommend any drivers that can take me to this village?
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I don’t think this temple is known to any tour and travel in Bali. But, everyone in the village, surely know. So, you can just ask the tour and travel driver to take you to the village. Thank you for stopping by to my blog
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A fascinating experience, thank you for sharing.
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It’s my honour to do so. Thank you for stopping by.
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Thanks for sharing this here! I love this sort of “lost” (or abandonded) places. Will try to find it when I come to Bali in April.
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Abondoned place has their own secret and history. Especially, when people around has no idea about its story. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’ll enjoy your visit to Bali.
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