Nyepi is a Balinese Hindu festival that is part of the New Year celebration. It is an Indonesian holiday, that is primarily celebrated in Bali and Lombok.  Nyepi is a day of silence, meditation, self-reflection, and fasting.  People are not permitted to work, use electricity and fire, or travel.

Pura Batu Bolong Temple

Devotees leaving offerings leading up to Nyepi.  This beautiful seaside temple is at one end of Senggigi beach on a volcanic outcrop.

The name of the temple, Batu Bolong, comes from a natural hole underneath the temple.

Another ritual of Nyepi is Bhuta Yajna.  It is performed to banish negative elements and create balance with god, mankind, and nature.  Villages make elaborate ogoh-ogoh (demons and malevolent spirits), which are paraded through the streets and later in the evening burned.