Hilltop park built around a giant 121m Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue, with daily dance shows.
Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a large landscaped park on a hilltop above Ungasan, built around a colossal statue of Vishnu riding the mythical bird Garuda. The statue is copper and brass over a steel frame, it took decades to finish, and it was finally completed in 2018 after long delays and funding trouble. You can see it from a good part of southern Bali, and up close the scale is the point: the sculpture rears above the hilltop and the surrounding structures do not really compete.
The other thing people remember is the Lotus Pond, a wide plaza sunk between towering slabs of carved limestone that were quarried out of the hillside itself. Walking into it feels like walking down a canyon. There are viewpoints, gardens, an amphitheatre and a schedule of Balinese dance performances through the day, including a Kecak in the evening.
Be clear about what this is. GWK is a modern, commercial attraction on the site of a former quarry, not an ancient temple, and it is often sold to visitors as if it were a heritage site. It is heavily landscaped, the distances between areas are long, there is very little shade, and a paid buggy exists precisely because of that. Ticketing is tiered, with the basic ticket covering the grounds and higher tiers adding access up inside the statue itself.
If you enjoy the sculpture, the quarry architecture and a well-staged dance programme, it holds up. If you came to Bali for old temples and rice fields, it will feel like a theme park.
行き方
GWK is in Ungasan on the Bukit, roughly fifteen to thirty minutes by scooter or car from Jimbaran and the Uluwatu area, and around an hour from Seminyak or Kuta depending on traffic. Most people come with a driver, and it is often bolted onto a day that ends at Uluwatu Temple for the sunset Kecak, which works well because GWK's own performance schedule finishes earlier in the day. There is a large on-site car park and a proper ticketed entrance. Once inside, the site is much bigger than it looks from the gate, so pick up a map and a performance schedule at the entrance and plan a route rather than wandering, particularly if you have limited time or are visiting with children.
ベストシーズン
Late afternoon is the most comfortable time to walk the grounds, because the open plazas and the Lotus Pond bake in the middle of the day and there is almost no shade. It is also when the light on the statue is warmest. Check the day's performance timetable on arrival and build your route around the shows rather than the other way round, since the dance programme is the strongest part of the visit. Weekdays are noticeably quieter than weekends and Indonesian public holidays.
知っておきたいこと
Ticket prices are not published on the park's own website, only ticket categories, so buy at the gate or through a booking platform and check what your tier includes. There is a standard grounds ticket, higher tiers that add the tour up inside the statue, and separate add-ons such as buggy transport. If going inside the statue matters to you, ask at the counter, because that tour can run on timed slots and can sell out. Wear a hat and bring water. There is a lot of open walking across paved plazas with no cover and the heat reflects off the limestone. Comfortable shoes make more difference here than at any other Bukit attraction. If your time is short, prioritise the Lotus Pond, the statue plaza and one performance, and skip the rest. Bali's separate IDR 150,000 tourist levy is paid online before arrival and is not collected at the GWK gate.
GWK does not publish prices on its official website, only the ticket categories, so figures quoted elsewhere go stale quickly. There is a standard grounds ticket plus higher tiers that include the statue tour, and buggy transport is a separate add-on. Check the current rate at the counter or on a booking platform.
Yes, the park offers a tour that takes you to viewing levels inside the statue, sold as a higher ticket tier rather than included with standard entry. It can run on timed slots, so ask at the ticket counter when you arrive rather than assuming you can walk up.
It depends what you want. The statue and the quarried limestone plazas are genuinely impressive and the dance programme is well done. But it is a modern commercial park completed in 2018, not a historic site, and it involves a lot of hot open walking. If your Bali list is already full of temples and beaches, this is skippable.
Two to three hours covers the Lotus Pond, the statue plaza, the main viewpoints and one performance at a reasonable pace. Less than that and you will be rushing between areas that are further apart than they look on the map.
Very little shade, and the paved plazas hold the heat. A paid buggy service runs around the site for those who would rather not walk the full distances. Bring water, a hat and sun cover, and consider a late afternoon visit.
Yes, and it is the standard pairing. GWK's performances run through the daytime and Uluwatu's Kecak is timed for sunset, so doing GWK in the early afternoon and moving on to Uluwatu by around four o'clock leaves enough margin for the traffic that builds before sunset.
インドネシアを横断するルートに加えれば、各立ち寄り先間の移動時間と費用を私たちが算出します。
旅を組み立てる
