Klungkung, Bali

Town of Klungkung, also called Semarapura


Klungkung was the former capital of the Kingdom of Klungkung. Also known as Semarapura, the town still holds a number of historical buildings. One of the most important is Taman Gili, a garden comprising a pair of pavilion and an ornamental moat. It is part of what was once the royal palace of the Gelgel dynasty that ruled Klungkung.

Adjacent to Taman Gili is the district museum, Museum Daerah Semarapura. Displayed at the museum are old photographs of the royal family, along with bronze and marble sculptures.

To the south of Taman Gili is a large gate, believed to be the entranceway from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard of the old palace. Its large wooden doors are stuck together, and according to legend, it became stuck since the puputan of 1908, when some two hundred members of the Klungkung royal court committed ritual suicide in defiance of the Dutch. A Puputan Monument stands across the road from Taman Gili to remember them.

About a kilometer northeast from the center of Klungkung is the temple of Pura Taman Sari. A highlight of this temple is its eleven-tier meru shrine. It stands on a stone turtle surrounded by a moat.

Less than a kilometer to the south of Klungkung is Kamasan, a village with many artist studios.

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