When you crave an ounce of culture when the pure hedonism of Bali gets to be a little much, head on down to the Ulu Watu Temple located on the island’s southwestern corner, where you will find a fascinating enclave of culture, history and spirituality perched atop a cliff facing the sea. Soak in the sunsets and the tropical ambiance of the islands by checking into a quality Bali spa resort that promises to pamper you beyond your wildest imaginings. Consider the COMO Shambhala Estate Bali which is one of the finest options for a Bali luxury spa resort on the island. Perched on a cliff on Bali’s southwest corner is the Ulu Watu Temple, one of the island’s nine directional temples erected to protect the island and the inhabitants against evil spirits. Visitors to the temple are made to wear brightly hued sashes as a means of warding off evil, and this spiritual protection is available free of charge at the entrance if you don’t already have your own. A special treat to witness when twilight descends on this immensely spiritual locale is the Kecak and Fire dance performances, held every night on the temple premises. The word “Kecak” derives from an ancient Balinese ritual known as the sanghyang, a trance-inducing dance that follows the performers’ repetitive chanting. The purpose of the sanghyang was to convey the desires of the divine or of the ancestors to the spectators of the ritual. The 1930s saw the ancient sanghyang being modified by a German visitor, who stripped the sanghyang of its spiritual component and associated the Kecak with the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. What is utterly enthralling about the performance is that there are no instruments, only the sombre chanting of “chak” repetitively and rhythmically by a circle of thirty men garbed in bright costumes and sitting in a circle. The end effect is mesmerizing and will surely transport you to the realm of the gods, which is apt at Ulu Watu Temple. The highlight of the performance is the entrancing fire dance, which is an integral element of the Ramayana plot that will leave you mesmerised each time.
Angela Fernando is an impassioned travel writer who composes pieces under the pen name Sumaira Narayan. She loves writing about new and exciting places around the world and intends to visit them all someday.
