Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pura Kehen
Jl Sriwijaya, 1.5km north of the centre • Daily 8am-6pm • Rp3500
Bangli's most famous sight is the ancient
Pura Kehen
, a gem among Bali's temples that is
thought to have been founded in 1206. Rising in
terraces
, its mossy stairway is lined with
statues of human and mythical creatures, led by a pair of elephants at the base, and crowned
by a leering Bhoma above regal red-and-gold carved doors. In the
outer courtyard
a massive
banyan tree hides a
kulkul
tower among its branches, and a small compound, guarded by
naga
under an old frangipani tree, houses a stone that reportedly glowed with fire when the site of
the temple was decided. The
inner courtyard
contains an eleven-roofed
meru
dedicated to
Siwa and other shrines dedicated to mountain gods.
Across the road, the lavishly restored
Pura Penyimpenan
(Temple for Keeping Things)
contains three ancient bronze inscriptions (
prasasti
) dating from the ninth century, which sug-
gests Pura Kehen could be much older than some believe.
Pura Dalem Pengungekan
Jl Merdeka, 1.5km south of the centre • Daily 8am-6pm • Donation
From Pura Kehen it's a pleasant walk downhill to the temple of the dead,
Pura Dalem Pen-
gungekan
, at the opposite end of town, where exuberant carvings cover the outside walls.
Depicting the fate of souls in hell and heaven as witnessed by Bhima, one of
the Pandawa
are also appearances by the widow-witch Rangda and stories of Siwa, Ganesh, Uma and Rak-
shasha.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: BANGLI
By bemo
Bangli is served by bemos from Gianyar and is also on the Denpasar (Batubu-
lan)-Singaraja (Penarukan) route.
