bali local guide: Gunung Kawi Temple

Gunung Kawi Temple

Gunung Kawi Temple or Kawi Tebing Temple is a protected ancient site in Bali. It is located in Pakerisan River, Penaka Village, Tampaksiring Village, Tampaksiring District, Gianyar Regency, Bali Province, Indonesia. [1]: 180 This temple is very unique because it usually consists of intact rock made of red brick or mountain stone, but this temple is not like that but a carving on the wall of a rock cliff in the edge of the river. The name of Gunung Kawi itself is said to derive from the words Gunung and Kawi. Mountain means Mountain or Mountains and Kawi Means Sculptures So Gunung Kawi Temple means Temple carved on a mountain. This temple is located about 40 kilometers from Denpasar City with journey about 1 hour by car or motorcycle. While from Gianyar City is about 21 kilometers or about half an hour drive. If you do not bring a private vehicle, from Denpasar and Gianyar tourists can take advantage of taxi services, tourism buses, or travel agency services.

History of Gunung Kawi Temple, Bali

This temple was built approximately the 11th century AD during the reign of King Udayana until the reign of Wungsu Son. King Udayana is one of the famous kings in Bali who came from the Warmadewa Dynasty. Through her marriage to a daughter from Java named Gunapriya Dharma Patni, she has an Erlangga child and Wungsu Son. As an adult, Erlangga later became king in East Java, while Wungsu's son reigned in Bali. At this time is estimated kawi cliff temple was built. One of the archaeological evidence to corroborate this assumption is the above-quasi-literary door which uses the letters Kediri which reads "haji lumah ing jalu" meaning the king who (symbolically) is buried in Jalu. The king in question is King Udayana. While the word jalu which is a term for spurs (weapons) in roosters, can be associated also as a keris or pakerisan. The name of Pakerisan River or Tukad Pakerisan is now known as the name of the river that divides the two cliffs of Kawi Temple. This temple was rediscovered by Dutch researchers around 1920.

According to local folklore the Candi Tebing Kawi was made by a magician named Kebo Iwa. With his supernatural powers, it is said Kebo Iwa broke his sharp and strong nails on the rock wall in Tukad Pakerisan it. The rock wall as though carved with a smooth and good, so as to form a cluster of beautiful temple walls. Work that should be done by the people with a relatively long time, supposedly able to be completed by Kebo Iwa for a day and night.

The uniqueness of the building

Gunung Kawi Temple Has about 315 steps on the Pakerisan River. The beautiful atmosphere that is visible from the grove of trees on the banks of the river, also gurgling water from the river that was sacred in Bali this makes visitors as welcomed by a symphony of nature. The stairs to the temple of Gunung Kawi is made of stone rock that is framed with stone walls.

Arriving at the temple complex, tourists will see two groups enshrined separated by the flow of the Pakerisan River. The first temple lies to the west of the river, facing to the East, which amounts to four. While the second temple is located east of the river, facing to the West, which amounts to five. In the temple complex on the west side, it also features a bathing pool and a water shower. Witnessing the two temple complexes, tourists will be amazed by the scenery of rock walls carved neatly into the arch space in which there is a temple. These temples are intentionally made in the basin to protect it from the threat of erosion.

In the temple complex on the west there is a kind of "hermitage" which is also called a monastery. The temple is carved into a sturdy cliff and equipped with a court, small rooms (like rooms) equipped with windows, and air circulation holes in the roof that serves also for the entry of sunlight. The rooms within the temple may have been used as a place of meditation or meeting place of priests or other royal figures.

Another site that is still a complex with Gunung Kawi Temple is a gate and a retreat called Geria Pedanda. In this place tourists can see some gate and place of hermitage. Experts call this place the "Tomb of the 10th". The naming by these scholars is based on a short inscription with the letter Kediri which reads "rakryan", which, if interpreted, is the premises of a prime minister or high-ranking royalty. While on the other side, some distance southeast of the Gunung Kawi Temple complex, through the verdant rice fields, there are several niche places of hermitage and a monastery that appears to be partially unfinished by the maker.