Photo of the Day: Gunung Kawi

by Barrie | December 26th, 2010   Tweet

A breathtaking and awe-inspiring site located two kilometres south of Tampaksaring, Gunung Kawi is two rows of ancient royal tombs on the banks of the Pakerisan River deep in a ravine overlooked by terraced rice-fields. A long, steep stone stairway leads down to this ancient site.
The holy Pakersian River flows through the centre of Gunung Kawi cutting the site into two separate sections with a bridge to connect one side to the other. It is believed the holy waters of the Pakerisan sanctify Gunung Kawi, and the eerie beauty of the place is evokes a peaceful atmosphere. There is parity with the tomb of Artaxerxes II at Persipolis and the Ellora Caves in India with Gunung Kawi.

Gunung Batur Closed to Climbers

by Barrie | November 9th, 2010   Tweet

There is so much volcanic activity across the archipelago at the moment. As more and more earthquakes occur the higher the chances of usually dormant volcanoes coming to life. In the last ten day Gunung Merapi in Central Java has unleashed its fury on the city of Yogyakarta. This afternoon I received yet another phone call from Yogyakarta informing me of an earthquake in progress!
The two main dormant volcanoes in Bali are Gunung Agung and Gunung Batur. I can well remember talking with some locals a while back about the volcanic activity of Gunung Batur. One of the fishermen told me that if the lake’s water gets warm then this is a good sign the volcano is coming to life.
I was reading an article today in the Bali Discovery about Gunung Batur being closed to climbers. According to the article: One of the volcanoes placed on alert is Bali’s Mount Batur which, as a result, has been closed to mountain climbers and other activities on its slopes until further notice. 19 volcanoes across Indonesia are currently classified at a “Waspada” alert status, the second highest danger level just short of a “Siaga” status reserved for mountains at an elevated level of tectonic activity.
It’s a worrying time for Indonesians across the archipelago at the moment and one can only hope that recent disasters like those in Sumatra and Central Java never occur in Bali.