Quick Answer
The best temples in Bali are the ones that match what you came for. For drama and sunset, Tanah Lot and Uluwatu on the southern coast are unmatched. For sanctity, Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung is the mother temple of the whole island, and Tirta Empul is the holy spring where Balinese still come to bathe. Lempuyang draws the crowds for its framed view of Agung between two gates. The quieter rewards sit in the north, where Ulun Danu Beratan floats on a mountain lake and the Buddhist monastery at Banjar offers a calm most southern temples lost years ago. Wear a sarong and sash at every one, and visit before mid-morning to beat both the heat and the tour buses.
Bali's Temples at a Glance
- How many: Thousands across the island, from family shrines to the nine directional temples that protect Bali
- Dress code: Sarong and sash required at all of them; most sell or rent them at the entrance for a small fee
- Entry fees: Typically (to confirm)
- Best time of day: Early morning for quiet and cool light; late afternoon for sunset at the sea temples
- Best season: Dry season, April to October, for clear views of the mountains and lakes
- Southern highlights: Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Besakih, Tirta Empul, Lempuyang, Goa Gajah, Taman Ayun
- Northern highlights: Ulun Danu Beratan, Brahma Vihara Arama, Pura Pulaki
- What to know first: Bali temple etiquette covers dress, conduct, and the rules around menstruation and photography
A temple in Bali is called a pura, an open-air walled compound that frames the mountains, the sea, or a spring rather than enclosing a dark interior. There are thousands of them, and a few are among the most photographed places on earth. Many of those few are now genuinely crowded, which is worth knowing before you build a day around them.
The list below covers the temples most visitors come to Bali to see, with an honest note on each about when to go and what you actually get. The deeper context for why these places are built where they are, and what the ceremonies mean, sits in Balinese Hinduism explained. The north Bali section near the end points toward the temples that reward the drive when the famous ones feel like a queue.
Tanah Lot
A sea temple perched on a rock that the tide cuts off from the shore twice a day, Tanah Lot is the postcard of Bali for a reason. The silhouette against a setting sun is the image, and at low tide you can walk across to the base of the rock, though the temple itself is closed to non-worshippers. Come for sunset and accept that several hundred other people had the same idea.
The trick is to arrive ninety minutes before sundown, walk the cliff paths to the south where the crowd thins, and watch the light change from there. The market lane on the way in is dense and touristy, so move through it with purpose.
Where: Beraban village, Tabanan Regency, about 45 minutes northwest of Seminyak. Entry (to confirm).
Uluwatu
Set on a sheer cliff a hundred meters above the Indian Ocean at the southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula, Uluwatu is the most dramatic setting of any temple on the island. The clifftop walk delivers ocean in every direction, and the Kecak fire dance performed in the open amphitheater at sunset is the best of its kind in Bali. The temple is one of the nine directional temples that guard the island.
Watch your belongings, as the resident macaque monkeys are practiced thieves with a particular taste for sunglasses and phones. Book the Kecak performance ahead in high season, and arrive early enough to walk the cliff before the dance fills the seats.
Where: Pecatu, Bukit Peninsula, about an hour south of the airport. Entry plus separate Kecak ticket (to confirm).
Besakih
On the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung, Bali's highest and most sacred volcano, Besakih is the mother temple, the largest and holiest complex on the island. It is not one temple but a sprawl of more than twenty, climbing the mountainside in terraces, with the great Pura Penataran Agung at the center. For Balinese Hindus this is the spiritual heart of everything, and during the major festivals the whole complex comes alive with offerings.
A visitor center and managed walkway system were introduced in recent years, which changed the experience and the fees. Go in the morning when Agung is most likely to be clear of cloud, and treat any guide who attaches himself to you with polite firmness about what you are willing to pay.
Where: Besakih village, Karangasem Regency, about two hours northeast of Ubud. Entry and managed-access fees (to confirm).
Tirta Empul
Tirta Empul is a water temple built around a sacred spring that has fed its purification pools for more than a thousand years. Balinese come to bathe in the cold, clear water, moving along a row of carved spouts in a ritual of cleansing called melukat. Visitors can join the bathing with a sarong meant for the water, and watching the local families perform the rite is the real reason to come.
It sits a short drive from Ubud and pairs naturally with the rice terraces nearby. Arrive at opening to have the pools quiet, because by mid-morning the queues for the spouts grow long.
Where: Manukaya, near Tampaksiring, about 30 minutes northeast of Ubud. Entry (to confirm); sarong for the pools often included or rented separately.
Lempuyang
Pura Lempuyang Luhur is one of the oldest and most revered temples in Bali, a series of shrines climbing the slopes of Mount Lempuyang in the far east. What made it world-famous is a single feature at the lower temple: a split gate, the candi bentang, that frames Mount Agung perfectly in the gap. The "Gates of Heaven" photo, with the mountain mirrored in the foreground, drew enormous crowds.
The mirror is a trick, a piece of glass held under a phone by an attendant, and the wait for the shot can run to hours in high season. The temple itself is genuinely sacred and the higher shrines, reached by a long stairway climb, are worth far more than the photo queue. Come at opening or skip the gate entirely and climb.
Where: Purwakerthi, Karangasem Regency, about two hours from Ubud in the far east. Entry plus shuttle to the gate (to confirm).
Ulun Danu Beratan
Here the famous temples begin to thin and the air cools. Ulun Danu Beratan sits on the shore of Lake Beratan at Bedugul, in the central highlands on the way north, its multi-tiered meru shrines appearing to float on the water when the lake is high. At over twelve hundred meters the setting is misty and green, a world away from the southern coast, and the temple honors the lake goddess who feeds the irrigation of the region.
This is the gateway to north Bali, and on a clear morning the reflection of the shrines on the still lake is the equal of any sea-temple sunset. Go early, both for the calm water and because the highland mist often closes in by afternoon.
Where: Candikuning, Bedugul, about 90 minutes north of Ubud on the road to Lovina. Entry (to confirm).
Goa Gajah
The "Elephant Cave" is a small but atmospheric site near Ubud, an ancient sanctuary whose carved cave mouth, a fierce demonic face, dates back perhaps a thousand years. Inside the shallow cave are stone shrines, and below the courtyard a bathing pool with carved figures was unearthed in the twentieth century. The grounds run down into a green ravine with jungle paths worth wandering.
It is compact and fits easily into an Ubud morning alongside Tirta Empul or the rice terraces. The site is small enough to feel crowded quickly, so arrive early and you can have the cave nearly to yourself.
Where: Bedulu, near Ubud, about 15 minutes east of Ubud center. Entry (to confirm).
Taman Ayun
The royal temple of the old Mengwi kingdom, Taman Ayun is set within wide moats and formal gardens, a calm and orderly counterpoint to the drama of the sea temples. The tiered meru shrines rise in neat rows behind the water, and the whole compound is a UNESCO-listed example of the Balinese subak landscape philosophy. You cannot enter the inner courtyard, but the gardens and the views across the moat are the point.
It draws far fewer crowds than its fame would suggest, which makes it one of the more peaceful temple visits in the south. It pairs well with a trip toward Bedugul and the highlands.
Where: Mengwi, Badung Regency, about 40 minutes north of Seminyak. Entry (to confirm).
North Bali Temples: The Quieter Reward
The temples above are the island's headline acts, and most of them sit south of the central mountains where the great majority of visitors stay. Cross the range and the character shifts. North Bali temples see a fraction of the foot traffic, the pace is slower, and a couple of them offer something you find nowhere else on the island. The full survey lives in the guide to the best temples in north bali; two stand out for any first visit.
Brahma Vihara Arama
This is the largest Buddhist monastery in Bali, set in the hills above Banjar near Lovina, and it is a rarity on a Hindu island. The grounds step up the hillside through ornate gates to a golden stupa, with a miniature replica of Borobudur and gardens that look out over the rice fields toward the sea. It is a working monastery, quiet and contemplative, and the silence is the gift after the bustle of the southern sites.
Pair it with the hot springs at Banjar a few minutes away for a complete morning. Dress modestly as at any temple, and keep voices low, as monks are often in meditation.
Where: Banjar Tegeha, above Lovina, Buleleng Regency, about 20 minutes from Lovina. Entry by donation (to confirm).
Pura Pulaki
A coastal temple on the far northwest road toward Pemuteran and Menjangan, Pura Pulaki is built against a dark cliff face right above the sea, and it is famous for the troop of grey macaques that consider it home. The setting is stark and beautiful, the black rock meeting the blue water, and it carries a strong local legend about a village that vanished into the spirit world. Few southern day-trippers ever reach it.
It makes a natural stop on the way to the diving and snorkeling around Pemuteran and Menjangan Island. Guard your belongings from the monkeys, who are bolder here than almost anywhere else.
Where: Banyupoh, on the northwest coast road, Buleleng Regency, about 40 minutes west of Lovina. Entry (to confirm).
FAQ
What is the most famous temple in Bali? Tanah Lot is the most photographed, thanks to its silhouette on a tidal rock at sunset, while Besakih is the most sacred as the mother temple of the island. Uluwatu is the most dramatically sited, on a cliff high above the ocean. Which one is "best" depends on whether you came for the photograph, the sanctity, or the setting.
Do you need to dress up to visit a Bali temple? Yes. A sarong tied around the waist and a sash are required at every temple, for all visitors regardless of what else you are wearing. Most temples sell or rent them at the entrance for a small fee, and shoulders should be covered. The full rules are in Bali temple etiquette.
How much does it cost to visit temples in Bali? Entry fees vary by temple and are generally modest, paid in cash at the gate (to confirm). Some of the major sites, such as Besakih and Lempuyang, have added managed-access systems with separate shuttle or guide fees, so carry enough cash and confirm at the entrance.
Can you go inside Bali temples? You can enter the outer and middle courtyards of most temples, but the innermost sanctum is usually reserved for worshippers in prayer. At some sites, such as Tanah Lot, the temple structure itself is closed to non-worshippers and you view it from the surrounds. The gardens, gates, and shrines you can approach are the heart of the visit.
What is the best time of day to visit Bali temples? Early morning is best for the inland and mountain temples, for cool light, clear mountain views, and far fewer people before the tour buses arrive. The sea temples, Tanah Lot and Uluwatu, are the exception and come alive at sunset. Aim to be at any temple before mid-morning unless you are specifically there for the evening.
Which Bali temples are the least crowded? The north Bali temples are by far the quietest, since most visitors stay in the south and never cross the central mountains. Brahma Vihara Arama near Lovina, Pura Pulaki on the northwest coast, and Ulun Danu Beratan in the highlands all see a fraction of the crowds at Lempuyang or Tanah Lot. Taman Ayun in the south is also surprisingly peaceful for its fame.
Is the Lempuyang "Gates of Heaven" reflection real? No. The mirrored reflection in the famous photo is created by an attendant holding a piece of glass beneath your phone, not by water. The gate and the mountain view behind it are real, but the wait for the staged shot can run for hours in high season. The higher shrines up the mountain are the more rewarding part of the temple.
Can you visit Besakih, Tirta Empul, and Lempuyang in one day? It is possible but rushed, as all three sit in the east and Lempuyang involves a stair climb plus the gate queue. A better pairing is Besakih with Tirta Empul, both reachable from Ubud, leaving Lempuyang for its own early start. A private driver makes any of these combinations far easier than self-navigating the mountain roads.
Are there Buddhist temples in Bali? Yes, though they are rare on a predominantly Hindu island. Brahma Vihara Arama, in the hills above Lovina in the north, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Bali, with a golden stupa and a miniature Borobudur set in terraced gardens. It is one of the most peaceful temple visits anywhere on the island.
Are temples in north Bali worth the drive? For travelers spending time in the north, absolutely, and even for southern visitors the quiet is a relief after the famous sites. Ulun Danu Beratan sits right on the main route north and needs no detour. Brahma Vihara Arama and Pura Pulaki reward a Lovina base, and pair naturally with the hot springs, dolphins, and diving the north is known for. The best temples in north bali guide maps all of them.
Why do Balinese build temples by the sea, on mountains, and around springs? Balinese Hinduism places the sacred in the landscape itself, with the mountains as the realm of the gods, the sea as the realm of cleansing and the underworld, and springs as sources of holy water for purification. The directional temples ring the island to protect it, and the great mountain temple at Besakih anchors the whole system. The belief behind it is set out in Balinese Hinduism explained.
Planning a temple route through the north? Message Northbound on WhatsApp. North Bali is the home ground here.