Located :
This temple or monkey forest located in the southern part of Banjar Manalun, Kukuh Village Marga district, Tabanan Regency. At the altitude 170 meters above the sea level, just 5 kilometers from the closest city Tabanan.
Descriptions :
Alas Kedaton or “Holy Monkey Forest” is a small Forest measuring about 12, 00 ha. There are hundreds of monkeys in this forest and high up on the big trees, many bats ate hanging and singing with their loud voices. In this Forest is an old temple what we called Dalem Kahyangan Kedaton Temple is one of the important and attractive temples amongst thousand of temples all over Bali.
Historical and Religious Background of the Temple :
Based on the result of archeological research, it is the fact that Dalem Kahyangan Kedaton Temples is an old temple, proved by the archeological remains that are found inside the temple which still function as a sacred monument for local people. Amongst the archeological remains originated from prehistoric period when megalithic traditions developed in Indonesia, in general, and particularly in Bali during the period of advanced technology at the end of prehistoric times nearly the beginning of or after Christian era, approximately 2000 years ago. During the time ,megalithic society in Indonesia had established megalithic monuments made of big as well as small stones functioning as worshipping media, especially for worshipping the ancestor spirit who is considered to have magical power, to the super natural power and to power providing fertility so that society will be always safe and prosperous.
The unique things that are necessary to be watched are the temple ceremony is conducted in the mid day or at noon and it must be finished before the sunset or before night comes, because it is not allowed to use fire, light incense and used lamp. In addition, in the ceremony , it is not allowed to use Segehan, Kwangen , penjor and Tabuh rah (cock-fighting) and for the completion of the ceremony it is allowed to use Ceniga made of Mas banana leaf, while in other area in Bali, the Ceniga is made of young coconut leaf. It is also very unique that the ceremony is not led by Pedanda as commonly conducted in other temples in Bali, it is merely conducted and led by Pemangku Pura (the priest of the temple). The above unique are important and exciting properties to be watched because in the sacred and holiness of the ceremony, it is also hidden background which might derive from megalithic traditions that is still well maintained by the people in Kukuh village.
How to get to Monkey Forest Kedaton :
1. 1 hours from Denpasar
2. 10 minutes from Tabanan
3. 20 minutes from Tanah Lot Temple
What you can see around Monkey Forest Kedaton :
1. Taman Ayun Temple, The huge state temple of Pura Taman Ayun surrounded by a wide moat, was the main temple of Mengwi kingdom, which survived until 1891 when it was conquered by the neighboring kingdoms of Tabanan and Badung. The temple was originally built in 1634 and extensively renovated in 1937. It’s very large and spacious, and the elegant moat is an unusual feature. The first courtyard is a large, open grassy expanse and the inner courtyard has a multitude of Merus (multi-tiered shrines).
2. Tanah Lot is one of the important and venerated sea temples. The name Tanah Lot is probably from” Tanah Laut ” means land in the sea. It is the fact that the strong sea abrasion has separated the temple area with Bali mainland, so it looks that the temple nests on a small speck of rock building up on the ocean. The temple perched on a little rocky islet, look superb whether delicately lit by the dawn light or starkly outlined at sunset. But can it ever live up to the hype! For the Balinese, Tanah Lot is one of the important and venerated sea temples. The spectacular location of Tanah Lot is possibly the best known and most photographed temple on Bali. The tourist crowed here are phenomenal, especially at sunset, and the commercial hype is terrible. Tanah Lot sunset tours are heavily promoted in all tourist areas.
3. Bali Butterfly Park is one of the biggest butterfly parks in Southeast Asia. Find out the beautiful scenery by seeing a thousand species of butterflies from throughout Indonesia.This park offers many different kind of colors, shapes and sizes.
