Ogoh Ogoh are towering, intimidating statues in Indonesian Ngrupuk parades. They usually look like something out of nightmares, taking on the form of mythological demons and other figures from Hinduism. The Ogoh Ogoh Bali Museum in the small town of Mengwi gives tourists a rare chance to see these statues outside of Nyepi Day.
Entrance Fee to Ogoh Ogoh Museum
The entrance fee to the Ogoh Ogoh Museum is “donation” based. However, a box next to the entrance has a suggested price of Rp. 10,000 per person. The museum is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm.
What To See
The Ogoh Ogoh Bali Museum is only one room. Menacing Ogoh Ogoh fills the space without being too cluttered. The statues are highly detailed, and I was happy to see that they were well-maintained in this obscure, out-of-the-way attraction. All of the figures were labelled, but there was no extra information for those of us who are uninformed about Hindu folklore.
The proprietor of the museum has remarkably good English and is notably passionate about Ogoh Ogoh. He brought us props and suggested silly poses for us to take with the statues.
He has incredibly ambitious plans for the museum, starting with a bigger space. Eventually, he wants to put on shows at the museum with the Ogoh Ogoh, similar to Nyepi Day’s Eve parades. If he can ever achieve this, ticket prices for the Ogoh Ogoh Bali Museum could easily run into hundreds of thousands of Rupiah.
There is a toilet at the museum if you need it. On the right side of the room, there is an archway behind one of the statues. If the lights are off back there, ask the museum’s proprietor about the washrooms and he’ll turn on everything for you. The washroom is a single, spacious room. There was a toilet with a bit of paper but no soap at the sink.
Saturday Worthy?
I’m glad we came here. Even though the Ogoh Ogoh Bali Museum will take less than fifteen minutes for the average tourist, I still recommend it. The Ogoh Ogoh Museum is a very unique attraction, and I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it. We were able to get very close to the statues. With a good camera, you could take some really cool pictures here. It’s not worth a long drive just to see this. It’s better suited as a pitstop if you’re heading north to visit other attractions.
