Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave is near Ubud and added to the UNESCO World Heritage

       

Goa Gajah, also called Elephant Cave is located near Ubud in the middle of Bali

Goa Gajah dates from the 11th century and was discovered in 1922

The entrance to the cave is a kind of monstrous creature with mouth wide open

The cave has a 13 meter long corridor leads to a T-junction

At the end of the left corridor is a statue (1 m high) with four arms of Ganesha

(the Hindu god with the elephant)

Just before the entrance is a statue of the Buddhist goddess Hariti

The earliest known written notice of the existence of the Goa Gajah by LC Heyting,

then controller of the Dutch East Indies Government in Bali

This post was mentioned in the report of the Archaeological Service of 1923

In 1926 he wrote an illustrated report on his first visit to Goa Gajah in the journal

Dutch East Indies, New Years Eve, episode 11, march 1926

Opposite the cave is a fountain with six images of women

This was only uncovered in 1954 by the archaeologist JC Warrior

Along the cave is the river Petanu

Striking is the mix of Hindu and Buddhist elements

Around the year one thousand THE cave must have been used by Hindus;

probably before by Buddhists

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on

October 19, 1995 in the Cultural category

You can also visit the Buddha temple

This requires a lot of walking up and down the stairs

The temple is situated in a beautiful tropical garden but not very special

Puri Lukisan Museum in Ubud is the oldest art museum in Bali

     

Click on the photo to enlarge

The Puri Lukisan Museum is located in Ubud, Bali

It`s the oldest art museum in Bali which specialize in modern traditional

Balinese paintings and wood carvings

It`s home to the finest collection of modern traditional Balinese painting and wood carving on the island, spanning from the pre-Independence war (1930–1945)

to the post-Independence war (1945 – present) era

The collection includes important examples of all of the artistic styles in Bali including

the Sanur, Batuan, Ubud Young Artist and Keliki schools

The Kama Sutra collection was for adults only and hung behind the curtains

Highlights of the Collection of the Puri Lukisan Museum:

Ida Bagus Gelgel (1900–1937)

He grew up in Kamasan, far away from direct western influence, but his works evolved beyond the conventions of the Wayang tradition

He was so creative, that in 1937 one of his paintings won a silver medal at the International Colonial Art Exhibition in Paris

One of his works, the Priest Dharmaswami, painted in 1935 using naturals dyes on paper, is one of the masterpieces of the Museum Puri Lukisan

It tells the story of a Priest who rescued a monkey, a snake and a tiger from a well

When the priest was arrested by a prince on false charges, the animals came to his rescue

The paintings shows these animals bringing gifts as a gratitude for saving their lives

I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (~1862–1978)

A true master and "Renaissance Man", Lempad is a figure in the Balinese community

as well as in artistic circles abroad

His fame extends not only beyond geographical borders but also beyond the

ordinary borders of craftsmanship and artistic expression

Lempad’s specialty was classical scenes, rendered in a relatively formal way

To these he applied creative genius, and the passionate intensity of his personality,

in creating works that inspired many artists who followed him

Although he maintained closed friendships with the foreign artists who lived in Bali, including Bonnet and Spies, Lempad never compromised his distinctive identity as a Balinese artist

Lempad had a broad range of talents in many art forms: including painting,

sculpture and architecture

He designed some of the palaces and temples in and around Ubud, including parts

of the Puri Lukisan Museum

He also painted the murals at the entrance of the North building of the museum

Lempad's drawing, the Dream of Dharmawangsa, is one of the masterpieces of the museum and is rendered in his unique linear style

The buildings, entrance and the garden of the museum were also worth to see