The name Gunung Kawi itself is said to come from the word mountain and Kawi. Mount means mountain or mountains and Kawi means carvings. So the temple Gunung Kawi means temple carved on the mountain.

The temple is located about 40 kilometers from Denpasar to travel about 1 hour by car or motorcycle. Located on the River Pakerisan, Hamlet Penangka, Sebatu Village, District Tegalalang, Gianyar, Bali Province.

The temple was built about the 11th century AD during the reign of King Udayana until the reign of the Anak Wungsu. King Udayana is one of the famous kings of Bali which was derived from Marwadewa Dynasty. Through his marriage to a daughter of a Javanese princess named Gunapriya Dharma Patni, he has a son Erlangga and Anak Wungsu. As adults, Erlangga later became king in East Java, while the Anak Wungsu ruled in Bali. During this period the estimated kawi cliff temple was built. One of the archaeological evidence to corroborate that assumption is the writing on the door using a pseudo-Kediri letters that read “Haji lumah jalu ing” which means the king is (symbolically) buried in Jalu. The king was the king Udayana. While jalu word which is the term used for spurs (weapons) on a rooster, can be associated as well as a dagger or Pakerisan. Name or River Pakerisan is now known as the name of the river that divides the two cliffs of the Kawi Temple. This temple was rediscovered by Dutch archeologist around 1920.

Temple Gunung Kawi has about 315 stairs at the edge of the River Pakerisan. Run-stairs to get to Gunung Kawi is made of rocks framed by a stone wall.

Arriving at the temple complex, tourists will see two groups of enshrinement separated by Pakerisan River flow. The first temple located on the west side of the river, facing the East, which amounts to four. While the second is located in the east of the river, facing west, who’s five. In the temple complex in the west, is also equipped with bathing pool and fountain. Witnessing these two temple complexes, travelers will be amazed by the sight of the rock walls carved neatly curved in which there is a temple. The temples are deliberately made in the basin to protect it from the threat of erosion.

In the temple complex on the west side there is a kind of “space” which is also called monastic hermitage. The temple was carved in the rock solid and equipped with a courtyard, small rooms (like rooms) equipped with a window, as well as ventilation holes in the roof that also serves to sunlight. The rooms of the temple are likely formerly used as a place of meditation and a meeting place for pastors or other royal figures.