Though beset by tourists, Tanah Lot, also spelt Thanah Lot, remains a beautiful and interesting place. It is a rocky island with a renowned pilgrimage temple: the Pura Tanah Lot. The name means 'Temple of Land in the Middle of the sea'. The temple was founded in the 15th century by a king (Raja Dalem) who was inspired by a Hindu holy man known as Tuan Semeru. His name means the 'Master from Semeru'. Semeru the highest mountain in Java and takes its name from Sumeru, the central world-mountain in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. Tanah Lot symbolises the gods' in a lake in a garden.
