Published On: Thu, Oct 31st, 2013

Bali: Hindu temple ‘may be degraded’ by tourism efforts

 

Hindus in Bali are concerned that one of their most important temples could be “degraded” by work designed to increase tourism

By Natalie Paris

A proposal to develop Besakih, the biggest Hindu temple in Bali, has been met with resistance from local leaders.

Known as the “mother temple”, the large, tiered site, scenically located at 3,000ft on the slopes of Mount Agung, has been added to a government list for sites that are to be developed for tourism.

Besakih Temple Bali

But Ngurah Sudyana, head of the Indonesian Hindu Association, said the temple was the “centre of the universe” for Balinese Hindus.

“We are worried that by making it an official tourist destination, our spiritual lives will be disrupted,” he told the AFP news agency.

“We are concerned that our spirituality will be degraded and exploited if these sites are just seen as commercial.”

Mount Agung is a volcanic cone that looms over eastern Bali, a region of black sand coves that currently sees far fewer visitors than more touristy areas in the south.

One of Bali’s most famous temples is the beach-facing Tanah Lot, which sits on a rock above crashing waves, a sight well on the radar for many tourists staying at the popular resorts of Kuta and Seminyak.

Sudyana was concerned that the quieter eastern part of the island would change if “big buildings for accommodation and entertainment” were erected.

The temple and the volcano were included in a list of 88 places in Indonesia where accommodation and transport links would be improved over the next 15 years.

The list was drawn up in 2011 but the pace of development has been causing concern.

Noviendi Makalam, from the tourism ministry, however said the building work would benefit the communities. “”We are trying to conserve strategic tourism destinations, not cause any disruption to them”, Makalam said.

Bali is the number one tourist destination in Indonesia, a Hindu island in a majority Muslim country.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/nyje3og