PREPARE yourself to visit a revitalizing destination and step into a beautiful place on your upcoming vacation, namely the GWK Cultural Park. This friendly and inspiring world-class tourist area at first glance looks like slices of limestone hill in the middle of one of the world’s most energetic destinations.
The GWK (Garuda Wisnu Kencana) Cultural Park is located in the heart of the tourist area of Southern Bali (between Nusa Dua, Jimbaran and Uluwatu), to be precise at Bukit Ungasan (Jimbaran Hill), Badung, and is approximately 10-15 minutes’ drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport.
What is GWK?
The statue of GWK Cultural Park, Bali, Indonesia, depicts Lord Vishnu sitting on the Garuda mythical bird where the crown of Lord Vishnu is covered with gold mosaics. In the teachings of Hinduism, Lord Vishnu is a manifestation of God as the preserving deity of the universe and its contents. Then in Hindu mythology, it is also stated that the Garuda agreed to be ridden by Lord Vishnu in exchange for the right to use potent medicine so that his mother could be freed from slavery.
This tourist area is owned and managed by Alam Sutera Realty, Tbk. The GWK Cultural Park statue itself is 65 meters wide and 121 meters high, which is almost 30 meters higher than the Statue of Liberty in the United States. This park stretches over an area of about 60 hectares and perches 263 meters above sea level. With this height, this statue can be seen from a distance and even from the beaches in Tabanan.
This statue was designed by Nyoman Nuarta, a renowned sculpture artist from Bali, and was worked on at his studio in Bandung, West Java. Uniquely, the work of this statue was carried out in accordance with modern art and science by taking into account visitor safety, wind speed and earthquake resistance. Meanwhile, the materials used are copper and brass tarpaulin mounted on a stainless steel frame.
Construction of the GWK Statue did take a long time and could only be completed in August 2018. It was then inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo on September 22, 2018.
As a tourist area, the GWK Cultural Park is supported by a variety of cultural products and activities such as Balinese and Indonesian dance performances, a center for selling local art products, culinary serving in restaurants and several plazas to hold important events.
By the way, ahead of the New Year 2021, as informed via its website, the GWK Cultural Park was already reopened to visitors starting December 4, 2020. Have a nice holiday!
