Tirta Gangga water palace has been one of eastern Bali’s jewels for decades, a grand legacy of the Karangasem kingdom. The water palace was built in 1948 under the commission of its famed king, AA Anglurah Ketut Karangasem, or I Gusti Bagus Jelantik. Tirta means “blessed water”, while gangga refers to the Ganges River in India. Located in a lushy, beautiful area on the slope of the sacred Mount Agung, Tirta Gangga was a the artistic endeavor of a king who was patron of the arts and culture during his reign.
The palace was built on around 1.5 hectares of land in Ababi village, located on the main road from Karangasem to Singaraja in north Bali. The water palace has spacious gardens filled with tropical flowers, while its centerpiece is an 11-tiered fountain, surrounded by large pools and fishponds full of colorful lotus flowers. Around the ponds are intricate stone carvings and statues. The water is believed to rise from a natural spring under a huge banyan tree, where local residents have built a holy temple.
Tirta Gangga water has always been considered holy and is used for religious purposes by the Balinese Hindus. The king of Karangasem and his family used the palace and its extraordinary gardens as their retreat for recreation and meditation. During the volcanic eruption of Mt. Agung in 1963, Tirta Gangga water palace, Taman Ujung cultural park and the king’s palaces were, for the most part, destroyed. But in the late 1980s, the water palace underwent a major renovation to return it to its royal splendor.
According to Karangasem Regent I Wayan Geredeg, Tirta Gangga water palace is one of the regency’s most important historical and architectural legacies. The regency, he said, had at least 15 historical places of interest, including Taman Ujung and Besakih Temple, considered to be the mother temple of the island’s Hindus.
source : bali daily
source : bali daily
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