Mengwi is a little town just 18 kilometers northwest from Denpasar and 8 kilometer southwest of Ubud in the Badung Kabupaten (regency).
Historically it is one of the most important towns in Bali as it was once an ancient capital.
In the past several royal families have fought over the kingdom of Mengwi. This kingdom once stretched from Lake Bratan all the way to Jimbaran. However, in 1891 the kings of Tabanan, Bangli, Klungkung, and Badung destroyed it.
The 4 divided kingdoms were after the rice fields, coffee plantations and, most importantly, opium. The latter was one of Indonesia’s successful export products.
Pura Taman Ayun Mengwi
The highlight of Mengwi village is without a doubt the Pura Taman Ayun. In the 18th century Mengwi’s greatest king, Cokorda Munggu, built the temple and used it as the royal family temple.
Together with the high priests, the kings (raja) of the Mengwi empire conducted offering ceremonies in the temple to maintain the balance between the ‘creator’ and the ‘destroyer’.
Coincidently we drove past the temple on our way from Lovina to Ubud. It is a real eye-catcher. The temple looks as if it is set on an island surrounded by lotus flowers.
Many Balinese and travelers alike find Taman Ayung temple one of the most beautiful temples on the island. We can see why. Taman Ayun means ‘beautiful flower garden’. So it holds its name proudly.
The Courtyards
A huge pond and garden surround the temple so you have to cross a small bridge to reach it. After the bridge, you’re greeted by the huge ‘Candi Bentar’, which is the huge carved entrance to the temple.
If you visit the temple you will see that it is divided into several courtyards. As a visitor, you are only allowed to enter the first two. From here you have some kind of view over the wall to have a peek at the third courtyard.
The Balinese used the first two courtyards for gatherings and dance performances. There is a tower in the corner, on the left-hand side. You are allowed to climb it to admire the nice view.
The tower was used to place the drums which called the people together on the temple grounds.
The inner courtyard, “jeroan” is the most sacred area of the temple. From over the wall, you can clearly see several pavilions and a stone lotus shrine which is dedicated to the gods Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector) and Shiva (the destroyer).
The Temples
On the east side, there are a number of temples with various numbers of meru (temple roofs).
The three highest temples are dedicated to the mountain gods: 9 meru are for the God of the Bratan Lake, 11 for the God of Mount Agung and the temple with 9 meru is dedicated to the God of Batur Mountain.
The other temples that have 11 merus are dedicated to the rice goddess Dewi Sri and the God of Batukaru Mountain.
You can combine your visit to Pura Taman Ayun on a road trip through Central Bali. Other sights are the rice field terraces such as those in Jatiluwih, the sacred monkey forest in Sangeh and the lakes Bratan, Tamblingan and Buyan.