What to expect at Pura Luhur Uluwatu, and how to time the evening so the Kecak dance and the sunset arrive together.
Pura Luhur Uluwatu stands on a 70-metre clifftop about eight minutes from us. It is one of the island's sea temples and still in daily use. The walk along the cliff wall is worth the trip on its own, before anything else begins.
The Kecak fire dance starts near 6pm, every day. There is no gamelan orchestra behind it. The sound comes from a hundred or so men seated in a circle, chanting in interlocking rhythm, telling an episode from the Ramayana while the light drains out of the sky behind them. Tickets are around IDR 150.000 per person, on top of temple entry.
Come early. The seats facing the sea are the ones you want, and they fill well before the start. An hour ahead gives you time to walk the wall while the cliff is still lit.
Two practical notes. Sarongs are handed out at the gate, so there is no need to bring one. The monkeys near the temple are quick and genuinely interested in sunglasses, phones and loose bags, so zip everything away before you pass through.
It is a working temple rather than a show, and it stays a ceremony even with an audience sitting in it. If you would like to go, tell us the night and we will arrange the tickets and a driver.
