GUNUNG PENGSONG—The Top hill temple
On cloudy Saturday, I was driving
my motorbike from Gelanggang Pemuda Mataram while wandering what should I do
for the rest of this day. On the stop light, my eyes caught a green board that
written Gunung Pengsong with arrow sign pointed to the south. Gunung Pengsong
is a name of a hill where the main part of Gunung Pengsong Temple—Utame—stood on. This temple was built in
the 17th Century. Lombok Balinese believe that this the first temple
built in Lombok. Gunung Pengsong Temple is situated at Desa Gunung Pengsong, Labuapi, Lombok Barat
As I drove to the south, the shops, the people were getting less. They were replaced by the yellow terrace paddy field; the air was getting fresher as it touched my skin. It took me about 20 minutes to get there. When I entered this spot. Some dogs were barking and following me. An old Balinese man tried to send them away and welcome me. He gave me a long yellow veil and asked me to circle my hip up with it. He took me until the first area which is usually called Mandale. In this area, a giant Beringin tree stood still. Its big stem was wrapped in the chessboard pattern sarong. The scents of flowers and incense filled the air that breath in. On the corner, some monkeys were playing, jumping and sitting on a stone.
Then, I walked up along hundreds
stair. It was pretty challenging to reach the main part of the temple because
of wet season. Mosses looked brightly green on each step stair. I had to walk
carefully. However, the atmosphere of shady forest, the sound of birds and
various interesting old big plantation made me enjoy every step of mine.
After 25 minutes walking, I could
see a peak of a small temple behind the leaves of frangipani. It took me only a
few steps to reach the top. From this place, it seemed that natural beauty of
Lombok is calling out and mingling with spiritual ambience. I flashed my camera.
I couldn’t stop it until the battery exhausted. What a beautiful day!
If you want to visit this place,
make sure your feet are on good shoes, put some lotion to avoid mosquito sting
and......... watch your step.
Such a good blog..:)
ReplyDeleteSalam Kenal :)
Thanks a lot, I like yours too
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