Volcanoes: Agung
Nov 1978; Bali, Indonesia; 9,944 ft.
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Mt. Agung is a dangerous volcano. In March 1963 an eruption killed at least 1,500 people. Other eruptions occurred through early 1964, increasing the total deaths to 1,900. And in 2017 an increase in seismic activity caused the evacuation of about 122,500 people. Major eruptions also occurred throughout 2018 and 2019. Fortunately it was quiescent when I climbed it in 1978.
On the slopes of Mt. Agung is the Besakih Temple, the most important, largest, and holiest temple of Balinese Hinduism. It is a complex of 23 separate temples, built on six levels. It was threatened by the March 1963 eruptions of Mt. Agung; the lava flows missed the temple complex by just a few meters. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected.
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