Tirtagangga royal watergarden is
composed mainly by water, plants and sculptures. It is situated in the middle
of rice fields around the natural springs of Rejasa, approximately 7 km.
(5 miles) north of Amlapura, the main town of east Bali, Indonesia.
Tirtagangga is a well-known cultural
object of Bali. It belongs to the royal family of Karangasem.
The area
of the watergarden is about 1.2 ha (3 acres), consisting of three levels of
ground stretching from east to west. On the highest northern Swah level there are the spring under the Banyan tree, the upper swimming pool and two
decorative ponds, one with four fountains reminiscent of Versailles, and the
other with Victoria lotuses.
The first thing one sees when entering
the garden is the elegant eleven-tiered Nawa
Sanga fountain which rises from the middle of the complex. This
fountain together with the two ponds form the middle Bwah level.
The larger lowest Bhur level, on the left side of the
straight foot path running from the entrance to the west, is occupied by the
big South pond with the long Demon island in the middle.
The water from one of the natural
springs of Tirtagangga has always been regarded as holy. It is used for
religious ceremonies in the temples in the area until today. Tirta means blessed water, gangga cames from
Ganges, the holy river in India. The holy water is required for ceremonies of
the temples in the surrounding as far as Tirtagangga can be reached by foot.
At certain celebration days the people
from the villages around will come in colourful processions with offerings,
umbrellas, flags and other attributes. Led by their temple priest they hold
ceremonies around the spring under the sounds of hymns and the music of the beleganjur.
The springs have a huge output of pure
water. The water is first led to a reservoir where it is divided in two parts.
One third provides drinking water for the town Amlapura. The remainder
goes into the upper swimming pool through an underground pipe. The overflow of
water goes into the lower swimming pool, the other ponds and finally to the
rice fields.
For more information, mail to widoere@tirtagangga.com
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