I’ve always been a sucker for vanishing people– the Toala of Sulawesi, the Punan of Borneo, the Kubu of Sumatra – so it was to isolated and serene Lake Tamblingan high in the central highlands of Bali where I headed to look for remnants of a people who lived on the shore of the lake over one thousand years ago.
Although it’s got a street named after it in Sanur and you can even see a sliver of it from a mountain road beyond Bedugul, most people mix Lake Tamblingan up with it’s close neighbor to the north, Lake Buyan. Indeed, they were one body of water until a huge landslide separated them in 1818.
Most people don’t even know Lake Tamblingan is there. The hidden lake by the beautiful name remains one of Bali’s least known large bodies of water. At 1500 meters, surrounded by dramatic peaks, the minuscule lake is also one of the island’s highest.
It’s a bit of an adventure getting down to it. The three lakes of this rugged area are contained within one vast caldera. On the way down, I paused to smell the fields of hydrangeas and coffee plants and hear the sounds of a primeval upland rainforest.
When I reached the shore, a villager appeared and led me down a path full of butterflies and morning glories to the object of my mini-archaeological expedition. A number of old lichen-covered mortars were clustered under a forked cempaka tree. They looked of indeterminate age but anything left in the elements on Bali for over a year appears to be ancient.
The worn and misshapen stones themselves, carved from soft tuff, are not that remarkable, but their story is. I learned from Peter Bellwood’s Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago (1997) that skeletal remains and stone adzes found on Bali date as far back as 2000 years. But who were
these people?
These early Western Malayo-Polynesian ancestors of present day Balinese lived on the lake shore perhaps as early as 800 A.D., a time when rice was becoming an important crop on Bali and hundreds of years before incursions of Java Hindu settlers. Taking advantage of the fertile volcanic soil, these
were probably members of a small group of nut and seed gatherers or prehistoric rice growers.
These groups seeped into the archipelago from many directions over the span of centuries rather than arriving in a series of coherent, monolithic and coordinated mass migrations. Huddling on the shores of this ancient lake, they lived on the island at a time when it was covered in wild mountainous jungle in which man was not the hunter but the prey.
Practical Information
Getting There:
Because of the scarcity of public transport, the Lake Tamblingan trip is best accomplished with a vehicle or motorcycle.
There are two approaches. At Seririt, between Singaraja and Pulaki, turn south and follow the road to Munduk which eventually climbs east along the northern shores of Lake Tamblingan and Lake Buyan.
For an easier approach, head south on the main highway from Singaraja to Denpasar. Eight kilometers before Bedugul, before descending down to Pancasari, bear right for Munduk. From here it’s 10 kilometers to the shore of the lake. Four kilometers along this ridge is a lookout and rest stop over the cleft which separates Lake Buyun and Lake Tamblingan.
Keep following this road, bearing left all the way down to the lake. After paying a Rp3000 per person entrance fee, park in the lot beside the big candi bentar gate, or you can drive right down to the lake itself over a bumpy road. Ask for Kadek Swiss, an experienced guide to the whole Munduk
area. Or you can go it alone by taking the wide path to the right just before the village. After a kilometer, ask for batu purbakala.
There are no motorized boats allowed on the lake, but you can take a dugout around the lake for Rp50,000 (1.5 hours). Another option is to paddle across to the temple (Rp25,000), then on the way back visit the rice pounding mortars about 1 km before the village.
Where to stay:
The Pondok Kesuma Wisata is very near the lake in the middle of a citrus orchard; Rp100,000 single or double with hot water, Rp75,000 without hot water.
There are also accommodations, including homestays, in the Munduk area. From Lake Tamblingan, go back to the main road and take a left, then descend 3.5 kilometers. The delightful Puri Lumbung Cottages ("Rice Storage Barn Palace") has five traditional raised cottages made completely of thatch, matting and wood. Each nicely furnished bungalow (Rp600,000, including tax and breakfast) sleeps two and has its own water, electricity and bath.
E-mail : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2003 PakBill
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