Taman Ayun

Taman Ayun Temple is a Royal Temple of Mengwi Empire and it is located in Mengwi Village, Mengwi sub district, Badung regency and about 18 Km north side of Denpasar town. It is strategically located beside of major roadway between Denpasar to Singaraja. It is set on the land which is surrounded by the big fish pond and look like a drift on the water. It owns the beautiful temple building with multistoried roof and Balinese Architecture. The wide beautiful landscape garden in front courtyard to welcome all visitors who come and visit this temple. It is a beautiful place ti visit on your vacation in Bali.

In the town of Mengwi is the great royal temple of Pura Taman Ayun. The temple served as the family temple of the Mengwi dynasty, whose kingdom survived until the late 1800s. The temple was built by I Gusti Agung Anom, a founder of the Mengwi kingdom in 1934, and were skilfully and renovated in later years, giving its present appearance which tourists find so attractive and interesting. The temple is famous for its exquisite wooden merus, or pagoda-like shrines. The name itself means beautiful garden. It is built on a high tableland which is surrounded by ponds.
This gives the effect from afar that the temple is floating on water. In the central grounds is a building called the 'bale pelik' with beautiful carvings with interesting reliefs and statues of the nine gods, Dewa Nawa Sanga.

Many people visit this temple, not for its antiquity as it was only renovated in 1937, but for its ambience and air of serenity. The temple has an ideal recreational garden, the air is cool and the still waters provide a safe environment for all sorts of aquatic creatures which live in the ponds.

The Taman Ayun temple is the second largest temple in Bali, covering an area of 250 x 100 square meters. The temple is built on a high tableland that is partly surrounded by ponds, creating an impression that the temple is foating on the water. The temple is surrounded by a massive moat that looks lovely and is divided into 4 courtyards each courtyard situated on a spacious rising level.

On the east side of the main complex there is a meru dedicated to the god of fertility, which is closely related with rice and irrigation, called : shrine of Ulun Suwi " At one side of the east part is a shrine of the spirit warrior Pasek Buduk from Buduk village, a place around 10 kms from this temple site. The reason of the king building a worship to a spirit of Pasek Buduk, due to unending war between Mengwi and Buduk village area. Pasek was the resistant and strong defender and head of the village. Inspired by the bigger necessity to consolidate the kingdom Pasek wanted to subdue to the king by disclosing his physical weakness, and asked the king to build for his spirit a shrine in the temple, and appoint from 4 casts as the adoption of king children. The king agreed and adopted 40 children who then called the clan of " Pasek Batu Bata". It is mentioned that from the clan of Pasek Buduk and those adopted children had grown a strong garrison to support the glory of Mengwi kingdom. Mengwi is the second kingdom of Bali to control Blambangan regency ( now Banyuwangi in East Java ).

The odalan of the Pura Taman Ayun takes place every 210 days on a day called Anggara Kasih, the Tuesday of the week Medangsia of the Balinese Pawukon calendar. The ceremonies of this odalan comprise a period of several days.

Due to the 210-day cycle of the Pawukon calendar, the odalan of Pura Taman Ayun takes place two times in 2008, starting at the following dates:

1. 2008, February 12
2. 2008, September 8