Gunung Kawi Ruins overview
Bali's largest ruins, Gunung Kawi Ruins, is off the north of Tampaksiring. It is a 30 minute drive from Ubud. This area is the territory of the Warmadewa dynasty that flourished in the 10th and 14th centuries. The Gunung Kawi ruins are unique to Bali before Hindu, built in the 11th century.
Go down to the Gunung Kawi Ruins by going down the long stairs from the entrance. It's a bit difficult to climb back on the way back. But both sides are beautiful countryside, especially terraced rice fields. By the way, terraced rice fields in Bali were registered as a World Cultural Heritage in 2012.
The entrance to the Gunung Kawi Ruins is a gate dug out of rock. Gunung Kawi Ruins is basically a temple made up of buildings and monuments cut out of rocks.
The Gunung Kawi archeological site is built on both banks of the Puklysan River. On the right bank is the Queen's tomb and on the left bank is the King's tomb and temple. The first place I visited was the Queen's tomb. Each building is called Candi. This is not a true tomb, but a monument.
Crossing the bridge to the left bank, there is also a recently built Hindu temple in part of Gunung Kawi, but the photo below is apparently an old temple space. Was the monk living in the place where the rock was not carved? The building that stands in the middle is also excavated from the rock, not built later. There seems to be a theory of the influence of the Elora Temple in India, but the impression is that it was just dug out of the rock.
And this is the tomb of Gunung Kawi's royal family, who enshrined the king. After all it seems like a monument, and apparently the body is not buried.
Gunung Kawi Ruins is an interesting site and the surrounding scenery is beautiful. However, the ruins themselves have almost no human figures or such things, and it is an honest impression that Goa Gajah may be worthy of the ruins.
Gunung Kawi Ruins tours from Ubud
Several tour companies offer tours to Gunung Kawi Ruins daily from Ubud.