Trunyan Village

The dead are not buried. They lie in bamboo cages under a single massive banyan tree, exposed to the open air, slowly decomposing in plain sight. Skulls and bones from previous generations line the path. There is no smell — the locals credit the Taru Menyan tree, a sacred species they say absorbs the odour of decay. The village of Trunyan sits on the shore of Lake Batur in a Bali most tourists never see: old, animist, pre-Hindu, and deeply unsettling in the most fascinating way.

Trunyan is a Bali Aga (original Balinese) village on the eastern shore of Lake Batur, accessible only by boat from Kedisan. The village practises a unique open-air burial tradition in which the deceased are placed in bamboo cages (sema wayah) at the foot of a large banyan tree, rather than cremated as in mainstream Balinese Hindu custom. The Taru Menyan tree — after which the village may be named — is said to neutralise decomposition odours. Skulls and skeletal remains from successive generations are arranged along the burial ground. The Bali Aga communities of Trunyan predate the Hindu-Javanese Majapahit influence that shaped most of Balinese culture, maintaining animist traditions and social structures distinct from lowland Bali. The village faces the active Gunung Batur volcano across the caldera lake. Boat access from Kedisan takes approximately 30 minutes. Visits are typically arranged through local boatmen; respectful behaviour at the burial site is expected.