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mountain, and many people sleep with their heads towards it. At 3142m, Gunung Agung is
also Bali's highest peak and the focus of challenging climbs to its summit.
1963
The year 1963 is recalled as a time when the gods were displeased with Bali and took
their revenge. Ancient texts prescribe that an immense ceremony, Eka Dasa Rudra - the
greatest ritual in Balinese Hinduism - should be held every hundred years for spiritual puri-
fication and future good fortune. Before 1963, it had only been held a couple of times since
the sixteenth century. In the early 1960s, religious leaders believed that the trials of World
War II and the ensuing fight for independence were indicators that the ritual was once again
needed, and these beliefs were confirmed by a plague of rats that overran the entire island
in 1962.
The climax of the festival was set for March 8, 1963, but on February 18, Gunung
Agung , which had been dormant for centuries, started rumbling; fire glowed within the
crater and ash began to coat the area. Initially, this was interpreted as a good omen sent by
the gods to purify Besakih, but soon doubts crept in. Some argued that the wrong date had
been chosen for the event and wanted to call it off. However, by this time it was too late:
President Sukarno was due to attend, accompanied by a group of international guests.
By March 8, black smoke, rocks and ash were billowing from the mountain, but the cere-
mony went ahead, albeit in a decidedly tense atmosphere. Eventually, on March 17, Agung
erupted with such force that the top 100m of the mountain was ripped apart. The whole
of eastern Bali was threatened by poisonous gas and molten lava, villages were engulfed,
between a thousand and two thousand people are thought to have died and the homes of
another hundred thousand were destroyed. Roads were wiped out, some towns were isol-
ated for weeks, and the ash ruined crops, causing serious food shortages and great hardship.
Some villagers fled as far afield as Lombok.
Despite the force of the eruption and the position of Besakih high on the mountain, a rel-
atively small amount of damage occurred to the temples, and the closing rites of Eka Dasa
Rudra took place on April 20. Subsequently, many Balinese felt that the mountain's erup-
tion at the time of the ceremony was an omen of the civil strife that engulfed Bali in 1965
(see The fight for independence ).
In 1979, the year specified by the ancient texts, Eka Dasa Rudra was held again, this time
passing off without incident.
Climbing Gunung Agung
Two main routes lead up Gunung Agung; both are long and hard. One starts from Besakih
and the other from further east, at the mountain's other main temple, Pura Pasar Agung.
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