Trunyan is an original Balinese village located at the edge of Lake Batur across Toya Bungkah village. This village can be accessed by boat in 15 minutes sailing from a small harbor at Buahan village,located about 4 kms from Penelokan village. Motor boats can take you across the lake to a village strangling on the brink between the past and future. Trunyan, due to its isolated position and the secretive nature of it’s people, has retained its pre-Hindu animist customs and a tradition of primitive ritual and ceremony unique to Bali.
The inhabitants call themselves the ‘Bali Aga’ or ‘Original Balinese’. Here the dead are not cremated, but simply laid out in a ravine not far from the village at the mercy of the elements.
The strange phenomenon is that there is no odour from the dead bodies. The villagers attribute this to the scent of the perfumed ‘menyan’ tree from which Trunyan takes its name – Taru menyan. On the opposite shores of the lake the volcano looms high above the small village of Toya Bungkah, so named for its hot springs that flow into the cold lake waters. In recent years a narrow road has been constructed over the lava connecting this village with the outside world, and the hot springs have become a popular retreat.
