Breath-taking views on the green valley of Gunung KawiThe best time to visit Gunung Kawi is early in the morning or late in the afternoon. When we arrived early in the morning there were only a handful of people, which was ideal for making pictures and taking in the astonishing scenery.
Entrance fee to Gunung Kawi is Rp6000 (April 2008) and the friendly lady at the entrance booth will lend you a sarong and a temple scarf. Then it’s time for some exercise... Here you have to descend the stairs along several souvenir shops before you reach the river Pakrisan, which divides the two rows of tombs, a small temple and the meditation caves. This is without doubt the most beautiful temple setting of central Bali with stunning rice fields and palm trees which seem to be dancing on the sounds of the river below. The temple complex including the river and the rice fields is considered sacred to the Balinese and this explains why the Balinese have put in so much effort in making this area so amazing. The ten tombs were built in the 11th century and are surprisingly well maintained considering the weather circumstances.
The tombs were carved out of the walls and are dedicated to members of the royal family. Nobody knows exactly which members but there are two theories. One says the five tombs across the river are dedicated to king Udayana, his queen Mahendradatta, their oldest son Airlangga (who ruled eastern Java), their youngest son Anak Wungsu (who ruled Bali from 1050-1077AC) and Marakata. The other four tombs are dedicated to the chief concubines of king Anak Wungsu. With the cremation of the king the four concubines had to commit suicide according to the Hindu custom. They did this by jumping off a high podium into the flames so they could be with the king in the after world.
The other theory says that the 9 tombs are dedicated to king Anak Wungsu, his wives and his concubines. Tomb number 10 is found south-east of the main temple after a 10-minute walk through the rice fields. This one is dedicated to a high priest or the first important minister of Anak Wungsu.
You have to take of your shoes in front of the entrance of the cave complex since this place is considered holy as well. When we walked around the small temple we met a Balinese man who told us that former president Sukarno, Soeharto and Megawati have all been to the meditation caves to ask for success in their presidential campaigns. Whether they got their success depends on how you look at it right? He also pointed out the small inscription in one of the tombs, which states clearly the old Javanese language at that time and therefore the relationship between Bali and its neighbouring island Java in the 11th century.
If you have some extra time to spend in this mystical place then go for a stroll to the waterfall. It’s located only 5 minutes from the 5 tombs on the left side. But be careful, it can be very slippery in the fields...
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Behind the small temple you can find a couple of meditation caves, which indicates that this is a pre-Hinduistic place where monks and pilgrims came together to meditate.
