Tanah Lot, except as a tourist attraction with beautiful panorama, as well as a place to perform religious ceremonies. One was to hold a ceremony Nyegara Gunung. Nyegara Gunung ceremony is a continuation of the ritual ceremony Ngaben (Pitra yadnya). This Pilgrimage is held as a part of Nyekah ceremony, a ceremony dedicated to purify and deify the spirit of a deceased after a cremation ceremony, so the spirit can be resided in the household shrine. The Nyegara Gunung pilgrimage involves all the family members and relatives of the deceased. A special effigy for the soul of the deceased called sekah is carried by the family members during the journey.

Why called Nyegara Gunung ceremony because this ceremony is a sacred journey or pilgrimage is made from the sea to the mountains. In addition to the sea, this ceremony can also be done to water sources such as rivers or lakes.  In the area of Tabanan, Nyegara Gunung is usually performed in Batukaru temples that a mountain area, in Bedugul, and ends at Tanah Lot.

In addition part of the ceremony Pitra Yadnya, in Bali Nyegara Gunung is considered as a part of ceremony for God, especially a grand ceremony which is held in a temple. Nyegara Gunung is required as a part of the ceremony in which the sacred effigies are brought to the sea or lake in order to be re-sanctified. In some areas in Bali, Nyegara Gunung refers to a trip to some rather distant temples to obtain holy water. This pilgrimage may involve several hundred people, all whom pile into buses or trucks rented for this occasion, on expeditions to far off temples as Besakih, Pura Lempuyang Luhur, or Pura Perancak.