Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave

 Goa Gajah is thought to date back to the 11th century, although relics predating this time were found within proximity of the site. The first mention of Goa Gajah and the Elephant Cave was in the Javanese poem Desawarnana written in 1365.  Despite the ancient significance of the Elephant Cave, the last excavation took place during the 1950s; many sites still remain unexplored. Literal piles of relics with unknown origins have been laid out in a surrounding garden. The leading theory suggests that Goa Gajah was used as a hermitage or sanctuary by Hindu priests who dug the cave entirely by hand. Although accredited as a sacred Hindu site, a number of relics and the close proximity of a Buddhist temple suggest that the site held special significance to early Buddhists in Bali. (http://goseasia.about.com/od/bali/a/goa_gajah_bali_indonesia.htm)

We drank from the fountain as the water is supposed to keep you eternally young.  Yay!!

 

Then we visited inside the cave itself.  There was a tunnel that opened up on a small room.  In the tunnel, there were spots carved in the side walls where people would sit and meditate.  It was pretty intense to imagine what it was like to sit in the wall for hours in the dark.  Deeper inside, there were three alters - one for healing, one for fertility and prosperity, and one for Ganesh.

 

After that, we hiked around, and Jaffa met the cousin of the huge spider at our villa.

Brave girl!

And we visited a very old banyan tree,

 

a waterfall over the ruins of an old temple that

fell down during one of the earthquakes long ago,

then back through the rice fields with our guide (in traditional Balinese dress..

Eben has been 'being Balinese' since, everytime he gets a hold of a sarong).

 

There was lots to see and talk about..

..the carvings were fantastic, lots of animals and scary faces.

The site isn't done being excavated.. here you see the remains of the columns of a temple, but they haven't found all the pieces yet.  Definitely worht a trip.. so interesting to see the mix of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and the harmony of faiths that is such a part of what Bali is all about.