Goa Gajah: Visiting Ubud's Unique Elephant Cave & Temple

Goa Gajah, also known as the Elephant Cave, is a unique temple and archaeological site around 15 minutes from Ubud.

Although now used as a Hindu shrine, the temple's history spans over 1,000 years and showcases both Hindu and Buddhist elements.

The cave was lost to time until Dutch archaeologists rediscovered it in 1923. Now it’s a place of worship and a popular tourist attraction due to the unusual carvings around its entrance.

We recently visited Goa Gajah for ourselves. Here's our honest opinion about whether you should too.

Getting There

Goa Gajah has a large parking area for scooters, cars, and buses right outside. Parking is free of charge.

From the parking area, it’s around a 5 minute walk down 50 or so steps to the upper section of the temple. Here you’ll find the iconic Elephant Cave and a few other historic landmarks. The walk is easy, along a well-built path lined with souvenir shops.

If you want to continue down into the ravine to see the rest of the complex (which we recommend you do), there's another steep set of steps.

How Much Does it Cost?

The entrance fee is cash only. There are no ATMs on site but there are several further along the same road.

What To Wear?

This is a temple so you must dress modestly and respectfully. As a minimum, knees and shoulders should be covered – this applies to men and women.

At the entrance, you'll be provided with a sarong to cover your knees – this is included as part of the ticket price.

Why is It Called the Elephant Cave?

Although Goa Gajah translates as ‘Elephant Cave’, fans of the gentle giants may be disappointed to find that the cave has no direct association with elephants.

Some think that the giant creature on cave entrance looks like an elephant (we don't see this ourselves). Others think the name comes from a statue of Ganesha found inside the cave. Hindu God Ganesha was often pictured with an elephant head, so this theory is more likely.

Do I Need a Guide?

As you first walk into the complex, you'll find a group of local guides waiting inside. These guides will likely approach you and offer a guided tour with history and stories from the site for an extra fee.

This tour is completely optional, so don’t feel obliged to say yes. You can explore the site on your own if you prefer.

If you are interested in a tour, you can usually negotiate the guides down to around 100,000 IDR per group. A guided tour does add more context and depth to your visit. There's no information around the temple so it's difficult to understand what you're looking at otherwise.

What Is There To See?

There are two main sections to explore, the upper section which contains the cave, the bathing pools, a sacred tree, and the modern temple shrine.

Then the ravine, called Tukad Pangkung Area, which contains older ruins and some beautiful photo spots.

Here is some more information and photos:

The Main Cave

The main attraction is the iconic cave with unique creatures carved around its entrance. You can enter the cave through the gaping mouth of one of the creatures.

The giant creature is likely an elaborate version of a Bhoma, a carving often seen above the entrance to buildings or temples in Bali that acts as a guardian against evil spirits. Some people also think it could represent Rangda, an evil witch in Balinese mythology.

Inside, you’ll be greeted with a cloud of white smoke coming from the many baskets of burning incense. There’s a short passageway that opens up into a wider space with shrines dotted around the edge. This was once used as a space for spiritual meditation.

The cave is surprisingly small so only takes a few minutes to visit.

Holy Bathing Pool and Sacred Tree

Near the cave, you’ll see a large holy bathing pool with six statues overlooking it. There would have originally been seven (one was damaged in an Earthquake) as they were dedicated to the seven sacred rivers in India.

Each of the statues doubles up as a fountain which the locals use to perform Melukat, a water purification ceremony that takes place around the full moon.

Next to the bathing pool is an enormous kapok tree, decorated with a black and white checkered cloth (called a saput poleng) indicating that it’s sacred.

Tukad Pangkung Area

From the main Goa Gajah cave, a short but steep staircase leads down to another section of the temple in a ravine. This is known as the Tukad Pangkung area.

This area is thought to be older than the cave and is where you’ll find most of the Buddhist imagery at the temple, including ruins of an old Buddhist shrine that once sat on the cliffs above.

With the temple ruins, enormous trees, and greenery growing everywhere, the ravine feels like something out of Lara Croft.

Many of these ruins have been reclaimed by nature so it can be hard to work out exactly where they are. But the key parts can be identified by the black and white checkered cloths draped around them.

Some other features to look out for include the huge lotus pond with a small hut in the middle and an ancient Ceiba tree with roots that sprawl out in a tangled mess.