Exploring the hidden beauty of Lemukih village - North Bali.

Lemukih is a small village on the northern slope of Bali Central Mountain. It is a small village, which is known for its rice farm, coffee, clove and various kind of tropical fruit cultivation and lies on the altitude of 638 m above the sea level, it is offering a cool mountain air. Lemukih came from a word of Lembu akeh means many cows, as what the story that we have heard from the local people that the village founders found lots of cows around the forest there when they first arrived at the area.

We start our walk at around 11:00 AM following the dirt trails that have been used by the local farmers for centuries. The path goes through the local farming area where there are various kinds of crops grows well in a very fertile soil. Along the way we have seen only few simple houses of the farmers who are looking after the farm. We kept observing and recognizing every vegetation that we saw along the way while enjoying the stunning view of the mountain, lush river valley, spectacular rice terraces and lovely waterfall. We kept putting our step on the dirt trails, jumping over the irrigation streams where the clear water run continuously to the rice paddies which terracing down the river valley. The coconut trees grow sparsely along the dike of the rice terraces adding more beauty for the view.

We met a local farmer who was keeping his rice paddies from the birds, we took a rest there while enjoying the great scenery around the paddy filed and was asking him if it's possible for us to have a young coconut as he got so many coconut trees growing around his field. He was nodding and smiling then he walked to his little hut in the middle of the paddy field to get his sickle. He looked around to see one of the trees that have the best young coconut. I was lying on flat basalt on the side of the path while enjoying my clove cigarette. Gusti and my other friend Nyoman was waiting around the coconut tree where the old man is getting us couple young coconut. It was a great resting time for us with the fresh young coconut juice, it was so refreshing and giving us some more energy to continue our walk.


After finishing our young coconut juice and giving a little tip for the old man, we then continue to walk along the dike of the yellow rice paddies down to a stream that leads us to a waterfall. We sit around for a few minutes and having some fruits that we got from a friend in the village before we started our walk. It was really wonderful to sit on the riverside and hearing the sound of the waterfall besides us. Suddenly the rain comes and we ran to a little house on the hillside facing to a lush river valley. The house was empty and we sit on a gazebo around the corner of the house, which has the view over the river valley. We were sitting there for about 15 minutes to wait for the rain stop. We could just sit right out there forever because of the spectacular view over the valley and the mountain in a distance.

We continued to follow the little path which was leading us to another wonderful waterfall, and the path was ended there and we had to walk back and try to find another path along the paddy field and we got to the top of the hill we saw a great view over the northern sea and it was so clear after the rain. We kept following the path and walking through few houses of the farmers and finally came out to the main street of the village. Gusti then got a ride on a motorbike to get the car at the starting point and collecting us back. We drove back to our local friend's house where we were provided with some meal and lots of coffee. It was around 6:30 PM, I was sitting on the veranda of the house and looking up to the mountain that is so close from the house, slowly it came to a silhouette as the sun was setting behind the mountain. What a perfect day in a peaceful little village, Bali is actually still having its hidden beauty.

When The God Descend at The Mountain.

Our ancestors told us to spend our holiday with contemplation not vacation like in the west. After being so busy doing all the work on the rice field, during the season of Kadasa they are entrusting themselves, pampering their soul and honoring the almighty spirits.

Full moon in the sky, without any clouds hanging around, rain is falling less and change to dry, and Fresh air. Up in the mountain area is still a little bit colder. The wind is still strongly blowing from southeast, falling off all the bloomy. Birds are busy making up their nest and mating. The cows and buffalos are starting to be getting their pregnancy, little birds are having whims on the vast golden rice paddies, and rivers with its clearly water. Entering the season of Kadasa, the tenth month around March 25th through April 21st, Bali is really entering a clean realm of nature. Our ancestors had given a name of Kadasa means clean.

From the 12 seasons that we have in Bali, Kadasa is the freshest and the coolest season. The sun is not too burning and the air is very fresh. The local farmers who are very sensitive with the sign from the sky, tricking this season as the right time to plant corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes and vine plantations such as beans, cucumber, pumpkins, etc. it is also a great time to plant flowers and articulated plants such as bamboos and sugarcane. During this season the plantations are rarely got the oily dew. The people who love to produce honey, it’s also the right time to hang the beehive where the honeybee would be easily come and stay in it. Shortly it is a happy season for the farmers in Bali.

During the season of Kadasa is believed that the gods are descending up in the mountains enjoying the beauty of the nature. It is the season that mostly blessed by the gods, and it is considered that the earth is the closest to the planet of the gods, moreover when it is full moon in the sky.




These beliefs, which make the Balinese people, are making religious devotion to the gods during the season. It is the time when the farmers are having their holiday as they have just done with the rice harvest, they have no work except cutting the grass for their cows, and then they will be deep in their religious activities. It is a long holiday for the Balinese, which means having worship and pampering the souls after working hard for 12 seasons.

It is not strange during this season, Bali is deep into serenity of their ritual ceremonies with waving of religious chanting, and jingling of the priest’s bells conducting the ceremony is slitting the silence of the villages, gently sounds of Gamelan are like inviting the gods to descend from the heaven. In some villages, the people are conducting a specific ceremony to honor the goddess of the fertility. Bali is becoming a real theater of the great heaven.

On this season, at the mother temple of Besakih/on the feet of Mount Agung, we have a great ceremony to worship the god and goddess that’s descending on the mountains from the heaven, and the feet of this mountain is becoming the main destination for the Balinese to pay their homage to the almighty gods. It is becoming the orientation of the free time, and as a place to pray to the mountain gods as the goddess of the fertility.

In some of Bali’s spiritual literatures, mountain is becoming the source of the prosperity. Mountains are the center and the main source of all the fertility and prosperity that flows down through the rich farms of the villages. If the mountains are bold, water stops running, rivers would be dried up, rice paddies would be gone and at the end starving will attack the people, civilization would be dissolved.

We are all on the entire world have the same duty to preserve our environment, mountains and forest as the source of the life. Let’s stick together to create this world as the most beautiful, peaceful and harmonious place in the entire universe. I am sending you my warmest greeting from the island of gods “ BALI”.