Trunyan

Trunyan is a village on the eastern shore of Lake Batur on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The settlement is notable for its traditional funerary customs and lakeside setting beneath the caldera rim.

The village is known for a lakeside burial ground where inhabitants historically left the deceased in bamboo cages under a large tree rather than cremating them, a practice that draws cultural interest. The lakeshore setting also provides views across Lake Batur toward the volcanic rim and Mount Batur.

Trunyan has long been inhabited by local Balinese communities who maintained distinctive ritual and funerary customs that differ from the island’s widespread cremation practices. The village and its customs have been documented by colonial-era and modern observers.

Trunyan sits on the eastern shore of Lake Batur within the Batur caldera near the Kintamani area of Bali; it is reached by boat from the more developed lakeside villages on the western shore.

• Access by boat: Trunyan is accessible only by boat across Lake Batur from Toya Bungkah, typically a 20- to 30-minute crossing depending on conditions.
• Traditional burial practice: Famous for a traditional burial ground where bodies are placed in bamboo cages on the ground beneath a sacred tree rather than cremated, a practice unique on Bali.

The ancient villages of Trunyan and Kuban are inhabited by descendants of the first Balinese, the Bali Aga, who predate the Hindu Majapahit kingdom of the 16th century. Unlike anywhere else on the island, the local dead are neither cremated nor buried but wrapped in cloth or pandanus mats and laid out in bamboo cages beneath a Menyan tree to decompose.

There are three cemeteries in Kuban: one for those who died of natural causes, one for those who met unnatural deaths, and one for infants. Remarkably, the decaying corpses give off no stench, which local belief attributes to the god who dwells in the great tree overhanging the cemetery; others explain it by the perfumed scent of the Menyan tree, which is said to absorb the smell.

Trunyan is accessed by boat from Toya Bungkah village on the south side of Lake Batur. Boats run frequently during the day; negotiate a return time with the boatman as schedules are informal.

• Respect local customs: Trunyan's funeral practices are sacred to the community and not a spectacle; ask permission before photographing.
• Arrive by boat from Toya Bungkah on Lake Batur-boats run regularly but schedules are informal.
• Wear a mosquito repellent and a respectful, modest outfit; the village sits on a narrow lakeshore strip and smells sometimes follow the ritual burials.