“It doesn’t enter the housing areas, just around the temple. [It was sighted on Monday] at Goa Lawah,” Putu Widiada, an official from the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) in Klungkung, said.

Widiada explained that the strange occurrence has taken place several times recently, though not every day. Local residents have never bothered to try and capture the snake, and simply let it be. 

“It has never been captured, usually when it crosses to reach the sea it will even be escorted, [some people] would stop the motorbikes passing by so it could reach the beach safely,” Widiada continued. 

Putu Juliadi, who is on the committee overseeing Pura Goa Lawah, said the python-sighting is not all that strange, as snakes often go out of their way to find food. 

“It’s a usual phenomenon of snakes looking for food, but of course we are from the temple so we pray that it signifies something good, for the future to be well,” Juliadi said. 

Pura Goa Lawah, which means “Bat Cave Temple” in Balinese, is considered one of the six holiest places of worship in Bali. The name is derived from the temple’s location, as it is situated around a cave opening inhabited by bats.

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