Goa Gajah

2 km (11/4 mi.) from Bedulu the famous Elephant Cave of Goa Gajah was revered by Hindus from the end of the first millennium and possibly by Buddhists before then. The cave was rediscovered in 1923, and the bathing-place in front of it was excavated in 1954. This source sanctuary owes its name - unexpected on Bali, where according to tradition there were never any elephants - to the form of the cave mouth, which looks something like an elephant's head.

In the cave is revered a 1 m (3 ft) high figure with four arms representing the elephant god Ganesha, one of the sons of Shiva. To the right of this, on a stone base, are three lingams, symbolizing Shiva in his three manifestations as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva himself. Round each