Pura Ulun Danu Tamblingan Lake Temple
Pura Ulun Danu Tamblingan (Unknown Age)
Pura Ulun Danu Tamblingan is located at the south end of Lake Tamblingan, the westernmost of three caldera lakes formed in a violent eruption approximately 20,000 years ago. The temple's name means The temple located above Lake Tamblingan.
The temple is one of a series of monuments associated with subak (local cooperative organizations), which are, among other purposes, charged with fair distribution of water rights for growing rice crops. In this capacity, the temple is similar to Pura Ulun Danu Bratan ("The Temple Above Lake Bratan"), which is also located at the edge of another volcanic lake in the same caldera. Just as the temple at Bratan is dedicated to the lake goddess Dewi Danu, a manifestation of Wisnu (Vishnu), the temple at Tamblingan honors the same deity. She resides within the 11-tier meru tower, echoing a similar structure at lake Bratan. One major difference is that there are two meru towers at Tamblingan, unlike the corresponding temple at Bratan, which has only one. Also, the temple at Tamblingan is far smaller than the vast and spacious temple at Bratan, which serves as a "mother temple" for the subak networks across all of Bali.
Pura Ulun Danu Tamblingan is located on shallow ground prone to flooding and is often partially submerged during periods of heavy rainfall. The surrounding landscape is a pristine alpine forest devoid of human development apart from a handful of houses and small temples on the east shore of the lake, and the largely hidden Pura Dalem Tamblingan to the northeast. A local guide, who helps tend to the landscape, suggested that developers have eagerly eyed the shorefront property, but so far have been stymied by local opposition. How long that remains the case is an open question.
The temple's age is uncertain, but the same local guide suggested that its origins may date back to the 10th century. However, the present structures are of far more recent origin.
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