This walk to the Pakrisan River Valley, near the village of Sawangunung, is a total immersion into rural Bali in an area untrafficked by tourists. Start your walk by turning east at the intersection by the pasar just north of Pura Panataran Sasih. The small road bears to the right, then to the left. Walk for one km to the T-junction, turn left, then walk past the school to Pura Pengukur Ukuran. Below is Goa Garba.

Pura Pungukur Ukuran means “The Temple Where All Things Are Measured.” Built by King Jayaprangus on the edge of a ravine at the end of the 12th century, the temple’s inner courtyard contains numerous bale, pre-Hindu megaliths, carved stones, and an ornate shrine with linga. Out a side gateway take the flight of huge stone steps descending to Goa Garba (“The Womb”) on the western bank of the Pakrisan River. A gouge on a boulder step is said to be the footprint of the giant Kebo Iwa himself.

In this small valley is a carved stone gateway, ancient disused bathing places (the king’s on the left, the queen’s on the right), and three meditation niches hewn out of the rock face, with slanting roofs and carvings decorating the wall above. Inscriptions in Kediri script above the hermitage cells are still legible; inside are a few pieces of ancient sculpture and pedestals.

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