South Bali, Indonesia Travel Guide
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GWK Cultural Park
GWK Cultural Park in Bali
Overview: The GWK Cultural Park is about 25 minutes south of Kuta in the Jimbaran area in the Bukit Peninsula, which is about 10 minutes south of the airport. It’s massive so devote half a day or so, especially if you eat there. By the way, GWK is much easier to say than Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. The GWK Cultural Park is a dedicated cultural park characterized by giant limestone pillars and dramatic cliffs, which gives the park a feeling of being enclosed. It’s located on a fairly high hill, lending the park exraordinary views of some of Bali’s peaks and valleys.
Being an important stage of Bali’s heritage and cultural performances and gatherings, the GWK Cultural Park has numerous venues for performances, gatherings and special events. It has an amphitheater with 800 seats, a Lotus Pond area that can fit 7,500 people and a few other spaces, including a small Exhibition Gallery area.
The GWK Cutlural Park’s main features, aside from the giant limestone cliffs, should stand out to anyone who enters the park. The park features a 150 meter tall statue of Wishnu (we pronounce “Vishnu”). There is also a statue of Wishnu’s hands and a giant statue of a Garuda, a mythical bird. These statues are currently, as of early 2010, separate. The plans are to bring them together once the statues and infrastructure pieces are completed. Wishnu will sit atop the back of the Garuda.
The main entrance has a lot of large steps. I did not enter from there and consequently, missed out a few items. I did, however, get to see the statue of Wishnu up close and personal as well as see the giant Garuda statue. Limited as my visit was, it was definitely worth seeing the landscape of the park and surrounding area. You can’t beat seeing incredible vistas and statues for $2. Come on!
Location: Jalan Raya Uluwatu, Ungasan, Bali 80361
Website: http://gwk-culturalpark.com/
Ph: 62 (361) 703 603 (Office Administration)
Cost: Rp20,000 for tourists, Rp10,000 for locals
Accessibility: The park is enormous and only the back entrance at the top of the hill, which is an exit (not the entrance where you purchase tickets), is wheelchair accessible. The front entrance has a ton of stairs. The statue of Wishnu is within reach but the garuda bird and other parts of the beautiful park are not.
Front Door: Inaccessible because of the steps leading up to the entrance gate.
Getting There: Cab it, hire a personal driver or rent a motorcycle