Goa Gajah

It’s a narrow cave guarded by a wide-eyed demon mouth structure and serves as the main attraction of the Goa Gajah Bali temple complex. Inside the cave there are lingas depicting lord shiva, his son and a yoni depicting his wife Parvati. In a little space by the corner there is a space for meditation and statues of Buddhist goddesses like Ratu Brayut and Ratu Jhempinis. The entrance of the cave has a long flight of stairs. leading to the complex where 7 statues of women are standing (out of which 1 has been destroyed due to an earthquake) holding water pitchers that depict seven holy rivers of India.

On the beautifully decorated walls of the Goa Gajah Elephant Cave witness the culture of ancient Balinese art through the beautiful carvings of jungles, landscapes and monsters on stones. Thus, showing off the amazing craftsmanship skills and techniques of the 11th century. The walls of the caves are decorated with the depiction of the ancient stories of demons, animals and phantoms. All the designs carved over the cave walls have taken inspiration from nature like mountains, scenes, trees, interlaced leaves, stones, and ocean waves.

After the spiritual experience at Goa Gajah Cave, take out time to explore the natural splendor of lush green paddy fields. which is as captivating as its historical and religious significance. To grow rice paddies, hills are cut into numerous staircase-steps like fields which gives the surroundings of Goa Gajah a very captivating look. Visit the countryside to take a stroll through the beautiful rice paddies and help learn how rice farmers cultivate and harvest rice. Grab this opportunity to visit a traditional home to learn more about the culture of the Balinese people.

It is a majestically beautiful long staircase laid down as a set of ancient stone steps leading down to the Goa Gajah complex from the parking. These stone steps are covered by lanes of towering trees at both sides making it a serene walk down to the complex . Standing over the top of these stones, one can take an overview of the entire complex of Goa Gajah. Apart from the main and large stone steps there are other stone stairways leading to the sacred pools, meditation area, Elephant Cave, the Buddhist section, rice paddies, and an enchanting forest. The techniques of these stone stairways are great examples of ancient architecture of Bali.