For those of you who have vacationed on the island of Bali, certainly no stranger to hear the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Mandala, better known as the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue (GWK). This statue with a height of 263 meters above sea level turns out to have an extraordinary story and design, so it is not surprising if the Garuda Wisnu Kencana tourist spot in Bali is always crowded with tourists, both domestic and foreign. The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue was built in 1997 with capital from state-owned companies, Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), and Bali I Nyoman Nuarta who was the maker of the statue. Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a manifestation of Lord Vishnu who is the Preserver God (Sthiti) in Hinduism riding a Garuda bird. This form comes from the story of Garuda and its Kingdom namely Dewa Wisnu who protects Garuda birds because they have been devoted and sacrificed to save their mother from slavery.
The name Garuda Wisnu Kencana is derived from the names of existing characters, namely Garuda and Wisnu, while kencana means gold because the throne where the Garuda bird and Lord Vishnu statues stood was covered in gold. Although his construction was stopped due to the monetary crisis in 1998, Nyoman as the figure made Garuda Wisnu Kencana target the statue to stand perfectly at the end of 2017. Besides being stopped, the construction of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue had drawn controversy from Hindu leaders in Bali. They consider the size of a large statue to disturb the spiritual balance of the island of Bali and see that the statue is not worthy of being a tourist spot. However, some support because the statue of Bali Accommodation Garuda Wisnu Kencana is able to increase tourist visits to the island of Bali. Eventually it was decided that development would continue to this day.
The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is located in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park covering 240 hectares. The location is on Jalan Raya Uluwatu, Ungasan Village, South Kuta. This area was chosen because it is a barren area that minimizes environmental damage that might occur during the construction of the mega project. Besides this, the Bali Tour Activity location of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue is in the main tourism area of Bali Island, namely South Bali. If you come from Ngurah Rai Airport, then you need a travel time of around 15-20 minutes. It is better to arrive early because the parking area of the vehicle is often full due to tourist crowds.
Bali Travel Accommodation Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park operates at 08.00-22.00. The Garuda Wisnu Kencana ticket price (since January 6, 2017) is IDR 70,000 / adult, IDR 70,000 / student. IDR 50,000 / school student, IDR 50,000 / child with height above 100cm, and free for children with height below 100cm. The mega project of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue has a unique design. The Garuda Wisnu Kencana sculpture material uses a mixture of copper and steel weighing 3,000 tons. Imagine how big the statue was built from the material.
But from the beginning, the sculptor had seen that when the construction was complete, the statue of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana would become the largest statue in the world defeating the statue of Liberty. The statue is also projected to have visibility of up to 20 km so that it can still be seen from Bali Kuta Resort Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua, to Tanah Lot. The process of making the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue was carried out by I Nyoman Nuarta at his workplace in the city of Bandung. The sculpture design consists of 24 segments with a total of 754 modules. The sculpture material used is copper and brass metal, then the two metals are coated with patina acid.
The completed modules are sent directly to Bali where this process is still ongoing. Recorded until 2015, Nyoman just finished the 23-meter tall Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue of a total of 120 meters. Initially the statue was only built as high as 75 meters, but in order to be luxurious and classy so that it can compete with other state property, a building was built as the foundation of a 45 meter tall statue. The foundation of the statue is planned to be used as a ballroom so that it is not wasted. Details like this are the features of Garuda Wisnu Kencana, so it is one of the favorite tourist spots on the island of Bali.
In the future, the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue will be used as a welcoming statue of tourists visiting Bali Island because it will look very clear and amazing Bali Best Hotel from the plane when entering the island of Bali. It is located in the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, allowing you to enjoy other attractions around the location of the statue. There is a sculpture development museum that you can visit to see the process of making sculptures that have taken more than 20 years.
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