Skull Garden at Trunyan Graveyard, Bali

Source :Wikimedia*
Tranquil and mystical ambiance accompanied our boat trip through the Baturlake to  Trunyan graveyard at Kintamani, Bali.  There was thin fog covering half of the lake and the villages around.  Unlike Kuta which crowded with tourists and over exploited Ubud after Eat, Pray, Love movie, Kintamani area still has less tourist. You need rent car or motorcycle to reach and explore the area as no proper public transportation available that bring you to the nearest pier to take the boat. 
In front of Trunyan Graveyard
After 20 minutes boat trip, we arrived at Trunyan graveyard. Do not expect it is a large cemetery, as it is just a narrow place on the side of the hill with old banyan trees surrounded the area. Home equipment like chairs, plastic buckets, cooking wares, and clothes was scattered between the pile of skull and bones.  You can see the fresh corpses and half rotten corpses inside the bamboo cage decompose there. Don’t worry you will not smell anything as the banyan trees absorb the minerals from the corpses.

Different with other Balinese tradition as Ngaben cremation ritual for the dead person, villagers in Trunyan practice the ancient pre-Hinduism rituals. They just put the corpses inside the bamboo cage with all belongings during their lifetime under the banyan tree. After the corpses decomposed and became bones and skulls, they move it to another side of the banyan tree. If you brave enough you can make a picture holding a skull in your hand or you can just have a pose in front of the pile of skulls and bones. Before you leave you will have to fill the guest book and donation box for Trunyan village and you will meet some beggars with kayak outside the graveyard.

The skulls are behind us, our expression were absurd, look at my bang ... it makes my forehead looked awesome

Compared to other tourist spots in Bali, Trunyan is less developed as it is located in an isolated area. It is only can be accessed by boat, while the road to the nearest pier is very steep. More over, there is no public boat with the regular schedule that will take you from the pier to the graveyard.  So, it is highly recommended for you to rent a car with a local guide such as www.sagitabalitrekkingtour.com   who will arrange the car and also the boat to Trunyan Graveyard with reasonable price.   


For more information about  car rental and tour guide you can visit  www.sagitabalitrekkingtour.com, Email: info@sagitabalitrekkingtour.com
+6281238933281


*I was too afraid to take the picture by myself , so I took picture of skulls at Trunyan  on wikimedia :D
 

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