Gunung Kawi

" The Mountain of Poet "

From Pejeng, the road begins a slow but steady ascent of Mt Batur. About halfway to the top, just near the source of the Pakrisan River, are two sites of great antiquity. The first, near Tampaksiring, is a famous complex of rock-cut monuments dating from the late 11th century and known as Gunung Kawi the “mountain of the poet.” The poet in this case is none other than the god Siwa.

In the ravines, on both sides of the river, royal tombs, a hermitage and monks’ caves have been cut out of solid rock. The main entrance to the site can be reached via a steep footpath that begins by a large parking lot lined with souvenir stalls on the east side of the road.

As one enters the site, to the left is a rock cut monument consisting of four facades suggesting the shape of temples. Each is surrounded by an oval shaped niche about 7 m high. The reliefs are covered with a kind of plaster. On the other side of the ravine are five niches with similar rock-cut facades. In the bases of all these, holes have been made which once contained little stone boxes divided into nine squares, corresponding to the eight quarters of the compass and the center.

The monuments are connected with the youngest son of the powerful East Javanese King Airlangga who lived in the first half of the 11th century, and was of Balinese descent via his father Udayana. Twenty-seven edicts are known to have been issued by him between A.D. 1050 and 1078. The central monument of the five may be devoted to him, because there is an inscription in Kadiri square script at the top reading: “the king monumentalized in Jalu.” By Jalu, the name of the site may be meant.

Next to the monuments is a rock-cut monastery complex, consisting of several caves with a free-standing building hewn out of the rock in the center. Characteristic are the large, rectangular apertures and oval shaped entrances, with overhanging roofs, now overgrown with grass. On the other side of the ravine, to the right of the entrance, another cave has been discovered.