Pura Goa Lawah, the Bat Cave Temple, is located along the coast of southeastern Bali just west of Candidasa (see map). The center of the temple is built around a cave filled with thousands of bats. We visited the temple during a full moon festival; thousands of pilgrims were present, praying and making offerings. After the ceremonies, the pilgrims climbed into a caravan of buses and headed up Mt. Agung to continue the festivities at Pura Besakih, Bali's holiest temple.

	A large crowd gathered in the main pavilion of the temple.		A girl in the crowd putting out her hand to receive a sprinkling of holy water.
	A lay priest distributing holy water to the crowd.
	Men lighting incense along one of the temple shrines.
	A man standing above a shrine, observing the crowd.		Logjams occur at each entrance of the temple.
	Groups of women bring trays of offerings to the temple.
	Closeup of temple offerings.		Having delivered the "spirit" of the offerings to the temple, women leave with the "remains" of the offerings: fruit and other produce they bring home to their families.
	Three girls walking through the complex. The swastika on the left side of the wall is an ancient Hindu symbol of luck; it is by no means seen as a Nazi symbol in Hinduism.		Boys adjusting their costumes before entering the main sanctuary of the temple.
	At the heart of the temple, shrines mark the entrance to the bat cave, still populated by hordes of bats.		Women bringing offerings to the bat cave.