The Rice Fields Run by Temples

Travel Onion · 2:13

Bali's rice terraces have been run for at least nine hundred years by a network of water temples — and when scientists finally modelled it, the priests' schedule turned out to be close to the best one possible. A subak is a group of farmers who share one source of water; there are about twelve hundred of them. Who gets water, and when, is decided at the temples, from a temple on the rim of a volcano above Lake Batur down to a shrine in every field. When neighbouring fields are planted, harvested and rested together, rice pests lose their food all at once — but plant too many together and the water runs short. The temple calendar balances the two. In the 1970s planners told farmers to ignore the temples and plant as often as they could; pests and water shortages followed. An anthropologist and an ecologist modelled the system, found the temples were close to optimal, and the temples got their say back. The Balinese call the idea Tri Hita Karana: harmony between people, nature and the gods. Save this one for the trip you actually take. Follow for more places worth the trip. 📍 PLAN YOUR VISIT — BALI'S RICE TERRACES ✈️ Getting there: fly to Denpasar; Jatiluwih is about two hours north by road, Lake Batur about two hours north-east 📅 Best time: the dry season, April to October — and go early, for the mist 🎯 Don't miss: the Jatiluwih terraces on foot · Pura Ulun Danu Batur and the crater view · Pura Taman Ayun, the royal water temple