Trunyan is an original Balinese village. Trunyan is located at the edge of the Lake Batur across Toya Bungkah village. This village can be accessed by boat in 15 minutes sailing from a small harbor at Buahan village (which is located about 4 kms from Penelokan village).

Contrary to elswhere in Hindu Bali the Trunyanese do not cremate their dead. Instead, after a ritual cleansing with rain water, the body of the deceased is placed in a bamboo cage under the taru menyan tree until the forces of nature, in particular the wind, has dissolved the body tissues and only the skeleton remains. Then the skull is placed on a stairs-shaped stone altar which is located some 500 meter north of the banjar Kuban, a special place which can only be reached by boat.

A centuries-old Banyan tree serves as the lying ground of the Trunyan dead. Bodies are left in pits and covered with cloth and bamboo. The dead bodies are covered only by a bamboo cage-like structure. After the body decomposes and all remains is skulls and bones, the villagers will collect them and added to the ossuary on a step-like altar.

A walk through the area provides glimpses of the deceased in various states of decay. Contrary to what you might think, the village is not suffocated by bad odors, because the tree emits a strong smell that overwhelms the odor of the corpses.