Gunung Kawi
Ten Shrines Seven Metres High Cut Directly Out Of The Cliff Faces Of A River Gorge In The Eleventh Century, In The Pakerisan Watershed That The UNESCO Subak Listing Actually Covers · Tampaksiring, Bali
Gunung Kawi is not built. IT IS CUT. Ten shrines, each about SEVEN METRES HIGH, were CARVED DIRECTLY OUT OF THE ROCK FACES of the Pakerisan river gorge in the eleventh century - not assembled from blocks but excavated, the stone around them cut away until the candi stood out of the cliff in relief. They face each other in two groups across the river and are generally read as MEMORIALS TO KING ANAK WUNGSU AND HIS FAMILY. YOU REACH THEM DOWN MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY STEPS through rice terraces, and you climb back up the same way, which is the whole of the difficulty and is worth it. THIS IS THE PAKERISAN WATERSHED - which, unlike Tegallalang up the road, IS one of the sites the UNESCO subak listing actually covers, which is the reverse of what most articles about Bali's rice terraces will tell you. Go early: the climb back out is brutal in afternoon heat, and the gorge holds its shade only until about the middle of the morning.
Tampaksiring, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Tampaksiring, Bali, Indonesia
OPEN IN DAYLIGHT with a modest entry fee; A SARONG AND SASH ARE REQUIRED and are provided at the entrance. THE ONLY ACCESS IS THE STAIRWAY - more than two hundred and seventy steps down into the gorge and the same back up, through rice terraces, with no alternative route and no lift. IT IS AN ACTIVE SITE: the shrines are venerated, offerings are left, and a monastic complex cut into the rock nearby is a place of meditation - keep clear where indicated. GO EARLY: the gorge holds shade in the morning and the climb back is brutal in the afternoon heat. IT IS TEN MINUTES FROM TIRTA EMPUL and the two are almost always done together. The steps are slippery after rain.