This sight is located in Bali, Indonesia. For travel information about Bali, read the Bali Travel Guide. To prepare for a trip to Indonesia, read also the Indonesia Travel Guide. Looking for budget accommodation in Bali? Use the Bali Budget Accommodation Map to find budget accommodation that fits your travel needs.
Pura Taman Ayun was built by I Gusti Agung Anom, the founder of the Mengwi kingdom, a powerful kingdom in the district of Mengwi, in central Bali, until 1891. I Gusti Agung Anom was also the builder of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. He established Pura Taman Ayun in 1634, when he moved his palace from Balahayu to Mengwi. The name Pura Taman Ayun means the "Temple of the Beautiful Gardens." The date of construction is carved on the door with chronogram reading "Sad Bhuta Yaksa Dewa", meaning 1634AD.
The eleven-storey meru are replicas of the original at difference sacred sites around Bali. They enable the people of Mengwi to worship at the replica without the expense and trouble of traveling to the original.
The temple is a penyawangan, or place to worship other sacred sites, with shrines to worship Bali's mountain peaks of Agung, Batukau and Batur, as well as shrine to Pura Sada, another important temple in Mengwi. Unlike the majority of temples in Bali, the orientation of Taman Ayun is towards Gunung Batukau, and not Gunung Agung.
Pura Taman Ayun covers an area of 250m by 100m. Originally dating from 1634, it was restored and enlarged in 1937. The gates, split gates and walls were renovated in 1949, and a pavillion, called bale bengong was added. In 1972, the black fiber roofs were replaced, and in 1976, a pavillion tower, called bale kulkul was added.
Pura Taman Ayun consists of a forecourt, a central court and a spacious inner court. The temple is surrounded by a moat with lotuses, giving it the feel of a garden sanctuary. Beyond the moat, the temple lies on a slightly raised ground. A tall stone gateway separates the forecourt from the central court, while the inner court is surrounded by a stone wall. Frangipanni are grown in profusion all around the wall. Within the inner court are merus, dedicated to various deities and spirits. In total, there are 50 shrines and pavillions in the temple complex.
On its festival day, Balinese women would will the temple bearing colourful offerings which they place before the merus.
Pura Taman Ayun Photo Gallery
Pura Taman Ayun is surrounded by a moat.
Shrines at Pura Taman Ayun.
Garden in the middle enclosure, with the bale kulkul, where the ceremonial drum to call worshippers is kept.
The Candi Bentar or split gate of Pura Taman Ayun
Another shrine at Pura Taman Ayun.
Gateway to the inner courtyard of Pura Taman Ayun.
Rows of bale or pavillion for court musicians, dancers and priests in the inner sanctuary at Pura Taman Ayun.
Rows of merus with ijuk black thatched roofing provides resting place for visiting spirits at Pura Taman Ayun.
View of the inner-most sanctuary at Pura Taman Ayun, with its merus and bales, and the outer court planted with frangipanni.
Shrine with ijuk thatch roofing at Pura Taman Ayun.
The bale kulkul, or drum tower, at Pura Taman Ayun.
The kulkul, or large wooden drum, used for summoning worshippers or to raise an alarm during crises.
The compound at the outer sanctuary of Pura Taman Ayun.
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