Uluwatu Temple & GWK Statue
We contacted Kedek a few days later to go to the Uluwatu Temple.
The temple overlooks the water on the edge of a cliff. The scenery is beautiful-- and with the beauty of the temple comes the monkeys.
Reading reviews of the temple before we got there...everyone was talking about the monkeys and more or less made us feel like we were guaranteed to be attacked by them. They are everywhere.
Entry into the temple is 50,000rupiah and everyone is required to wear a sarong. There are signs up before entering the temple to not bring valuables or have things on that would be easy for the monkeys to take like glasses or hats.
The path on the way up to the temple is lined with trees and flowers. When you reach the main path that leads up to the temple you are facing a breathtaking view of the water. Walking around the path leads to great viewpoints for pictures with the temple in the background. While walking around this path the monkeys are all over- in trees, sunbathing on the path, hanging out eating fruit along the railing. There's broken, discarded sunglasses and flip-flops on the path that he monkeys took and decided they didn't want. Our guide Kedek, while joking with us about he monkeys, did pick up a stick to walk with in case the monkeys got a little too close for comfort.
The temple's gates are closed except for worshippers and ceremonies. We ended up being there at the right time as worshippers were bringing up offerings to the temple in preparation for the full moon. While the temple is at the highest point to look out from, the whole area is beautiful to wander around and take in the scenery. There are market stalls and small cafe/restaurants outside of the temple gates to stop at before or after you visit the temple.
From the temple we headed to the GWK Statue. It's a huge monument that opened in the last few years. The statue is on a large property- with other artwork spread around the grounds. There is a complimentary shuttle from the parking lot to the area where you buy tickets- that's the end of anything complimentary. Tickets are advertised as 150,000 rupiah. The statue is a 20 minute walk up from this area, or you could pay 30,000rupiah for a golf cart ride to the statue. The statue is impressive to look up at- but there's not much there. Even in the base of the statue there is only a handful of posters describing the design and creation of the statue. There is a counter advertising tours every half hour...that you have to pay ANOTHER 150,000 rupiah for. So we decided against that and got in a golf cart back down that only drops you at the halfway point. From here you walk past some more exhibits and through a plaza with restaurants. TBH k would recommend taking pictures from the parking lot or street instead of spending the money to go up to the base of the monument.
