Monkey Forest and Temples Tour

This fascinating tour takes you to three very different locations…….....The temple of Taman Ayun in Bali's Mengwi district, which was built by I Gusti Anom, a founder of the Mengwi Kingdom in 1934 and was skilfully renovated in later years. The name Taman Ayun means beautiful garden and it is built on a high tableland surrounded by a moat.  From afar the temple appears to be floating on water.

The  temple complex has three ground areas rising in levels. In the most external one there is a general purpose hall which is used for religious ceremonies and for staging of dances.  In the central grounds the building is called 'Bale Pelik' with beautiful carvings, reliefs and statues of the nine gods.

In the innermost court, there are twenty nine buildings which function as places for the gods and goddesses. There are other buildings which house religious regalia used in ceremonies. There are also multi-roofed structures, some of them having eleven roofs called 'meru meru'. The central section is surrounded by a small moat, thus the whole complex is symbolic of  Mandhara Mountain turning in a sea of milk.

Next  on this tour we take you to Alas Kedaton or 'Holy Forest'  where there are over 500 monkeys of varying sizes living in their natural habitat  harmoniously with numerous fruit bats. The six hectare forest is populated with giant nutmeg trees up to 40 metres in height and the monkeys inhabit both the trees and the temple, Pura Bukit Sari, which is located in the heart of the forest.

Finally, Tanah Lot, which means 'Land in the Sea' .... a magnificent temple built on an outcrop of rock, just off the Tabanan coastline is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha who instructed the local fishermen to build a shrine on the rock, as he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods..This temple has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries !

Includes:

• Return airconditioned transportation
• English speaking guide
• Entrance fees