GWK, Uluwatu and Kecak Dance

Bali has done really well on religious tourism. The majority of its population is Hindu and there are lots of temples dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses. We visited some of the popular ones on our South Bali excursion. First was the Garuda Wisnu Kencana park (aka GWK), a cultural centre dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Garuda and showcasing their gigantic and majestic statues. Next, we visited the Uluwatu cliff, with beautiful sunset views and light blue sea waves crashing at the bottom of the cliff. It also featured the Uluwatu temple - a thousand year old temple which was coincidentally doing a major one-a-year holy ceremony when we visited. The highlight though was the Kecak dance performance, which happens every evening at a beautiful open amphitheater on top of the cliff. It is a depiction of important scenes from the Ramayana and involved the performers making “kecak” sounds while enacting the scenes and sometimes playing with actual fire. The whole thing was a mesmerising experience - an absolute must for when in Bali.Read more