GOA GAJAH

This Hindu temple could date from the 11th century, but its origin is unknown. Its name is a mystery: there were no elephants on Bali before the tourist operators brought them from Sumatra... From the road, you have to take some stairs that go down in half circles to the site. When you leave the steps, you arrive on an esplanade where a large rectangular basin is quite deep, composed of different small basins, whose sides are decorated with statues from which water comes out, and which were to serve as ritual baths for men on one side and women on the other. The basins now have only an ornamental function.

The entrance to the cave is two meters high and one meter wide. The cave consists of a sort of T-shaped space containing fifteen niches. In these niches, fragmentary statuettes represent linggam of Shiva (phallic representation of the god), a statuette of Ganesha and several Buddhas. One always wonders about the huge head at the entrance that people attribute to an elephant. It seems to be a typical Balinese representation of Rangda.

The discovery of this cave by the archaeological services led by L. C. Heyting dates back to 1923, but the cave was well known to the villagers in the vicinity. It was only in 1954 that the excavations revealed the presence of the basins.

Below the courtyard, stairs lead to the other part of the site, which includes a pool and the remains of a Buddha whose age and origin are unknown. Remember to come decently dressed (no shorts or bare backs). Downstairs, several Indonesians will offer to be your guide to lead you for example to the site of Yeh Pulu by paths of rice field. The parking lot on the main street is full of souvenir shops and vendors.

Beware: we have heard of some very cavalier practices from several guides on site. They kindly offer to assist you in discovering the site, leaving a tip to your free will. But when you give them something at the end, most of the time they get offended and ask for astronomical amounts for their "good" (?) services. The discussion sometimes turns sour, they retort over and over again that a few dozen dollars are nothing to us Westerners. Apparently, and more and more often, the tourist has become a real cash cow in the most popular sites of Bali. However, be careful not to give peanuts for the guides who do their job properly