Tanah Lot Temple.

Perched on a jagged basalt outcrop off Bali’s southwest coast, Tanah Lot is one of the island’s most iconic and active sea temples. Dedicated to the sea deity Dewa Baruna and linked to the 16th-century priest Dang Hyang Nirartha, the shrine is defined by its dramatic relationship with the ocean. At high tide, the temple is completely cut off from the mainland, appearing to float on the water; at low tide, the receding waves expose a rocky causeway, allowing visitors to walk to its base. While the inner sanctum is reserved exclusively for Hindu worshippers, the draw for travelers is the striking coastal geology, the constant crash of the surf, and the silhouette of the shrine against the horizon—especially at sunset, when the site draws its largest crowds.