Only short distance beyond Peliatan, on the road to Pejeng and Gianyar, a carpark on the northern side of the road marks the site of Goa Gajah ( Elephant Cave ). Ther were never any elephants on Bali the cave probably takes its name from the nearby Petanu River which at one time was known as elephant river. The cave is reached by a flight of steps down from the other side of the road.

The cave is carved into a rock face and you enter through the cavernous mouth of a demon. The gigantic fingertips pressed beside the face of the demon push back a ritous jungle of surrounding stone carvings. Inside the T-shaped cave you can see fragmentary remains of lingam, the phallic symbols of the Hindu god Shiva, and their female counterpart the yoni, plus a statue of the elephant- headed god Ganesh. In front of the cave are two square bathing pools with water gushing into them from waterspouts held by six female figures.

Goa Gajah was certainly in existence at the time of the Majapahit takeover of Bali. One tale relates that it was another example of the handiwork of the legendary Kebo Iwa, but it probably dates back to the 11 th century and shows elements of both Hindu and Buddhist use. The cave was discovered in 1923 but it was not until 1954 that the fountains and pool were unearthed. From Goa Gajah you can clamber down through the rice paddies to the Petanu River where there are crumbling rock carvings of stupas on a cliff face and a small cave.

On the southern outskirts of Tampaksiring a sign points off the road to the right to Gunung Kawi. From the End of the access road a steep stone stairway leads down to the river, at one point making a cutting through an embankment of solid rock. There, in the bittom of this lush green valley with beautiful rice terraces climbing up the hillsides, is one of Balis oldest, and certainly largest, ancient monuments.

Gunung Kawi consists of 10 rock- cut candi, memorial cut out of the rock face in imitation of actual statues in a similar fashion to the great roch cut temples of Ajanta and Ellora in India. Each candi is believed to be a memorial to a member of the 11 th century Balinese royalty but little is known for certain. They stan in seven metre high sheltered niches cut into the sheer cliff face. There are four on the west side of the river which you come to first. To cross the river on a bridge, Each of the sets of memorials has a group of monks cells associated with it. A solitary candi stands futher down the valley to the south, this is reached by a trek through the rice paddies.

Legends relate that the whole group of memorials was carved out of the rock face in one hard working night by the mighty fingernails of Kebo Iwa. Its uncertain who the real builders were but they may date from the Udayana dynasty of the 10th and 11th centuries. Its said that the five monuments on the eastern bank area to King Udayana, Queen Mahendradatta, their son Airlangga and his brothers Anak Wungsu and Marakata. While Airlangga ruled eastern Java, Anak Wungsu ruled Bali. The four monuments on the western side are, by this theory, to Anak Wungsu chief concubines. Another theory, is that the whole complex is dedicated to Anak Wungsu, his wives, concubines and in the case of the remote 10th candi, to a royal minister.