Exploring Temples and Food

There are very few exotic places in the world that merits your attention to want to explore them. Lombok city is simply one of these places, and the Lombok City Tour is just the right vehicle to do so.

All in all, this is a half day tour that covers the important heritage places in the area. This includes the Mayura Temple built in 1714 which is the royal floating palace (named Bale Kambang) of the former Balinese kingdom.  

Also included in the itinerary is the Narmada Temple built in 1805 and used to be a palace of Anak Agung Gede Ngurah. You can see here the miniature of Mount Rinjani and Segara Anak lake with a holy temple on top.

The temple was built by Balinese Hindus when they first came over to the islands.

Pura Lingsar

Pura Lingsar is one Hindu temple that represents the blending of the Hindu tradition with Wektu Telu, the religion practiced by the Sasak people who are natives to Lombok itself.

Followers of Wektu Telu consider themselves Muslims although they do not follow many of the religious commandments that orthodox Muslims do. They have adopted other beliefs from Hinduism and the native animistic traditions.

This dual heritage makes Pura Lingsar an important symbol of unity among the faiths in the islands.

Clothing

Visitors to Pura Lingsar need to wear a sash or sarong in order to enter the temple. For regular visitors who don’t have this, they shall be helped by vendors outside the temple who can rent them the appropriate clothing.

Exploring the temple’s outer buildings does no need special clothes. The northern elevated part of the temple is the Hindu section while the Wektu Telu followers do their worship at the southern section.

Attraction

Pura Lingsar is famous for the pool of water in the Wektu Telu which is sacred to the deity Vishnu.

This is also home to a family of holy eels which can be lured out of their hiding places with hard-boiled eggs. (Buy your eggs from stalls outside the temple to feed the eels yourself.)

Itinerary

From your hotel in Senggigi, Mangsit or Klui, you can meet up your guide at your hotel lobby. The first stop would be a visit to the Mayura Temple and Bale Kambang in Cakranegara.

After Mayura, the group can proceed to Narmada Water Palace. This is a historical park that was used by the Balinese Dynasty king as a summer palace. Inside the park, there is a spring believed by locals to be the fountain of youth.

A visit to the local market will be your place to get your arts and craft souvenirs of the place. This is aside from taking in some local fruits and vegetables that you fancy. Bertais is one of the biggest markets where traders from all over converge.

A taste of Lombok

After the tour, you can partake some local food in one of the local restaurants around. There would be Ayam Bakar, or Ayam Goreng Taliwang with steam rice, Pelecing Kangkung and Beberuk Terong.