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In Brief
The Handara Gate is the entrance to Handara Golf & Resort Bali in Pancasari, Sukasada district, Buleleng, in the highlands between Lake Beratan and Lake Buyan. It is a candi bentar, the split gateway used at the entrances of Balinese temples and palaces, and it became famous on social media for one picture: a person standing in the gap, the drive running away behind them into green hills. Photographing it is a paid, organised affair. You buy a ticket at the gate, take a queue number and get a short turn in the gateway. Go early in the morning, and combine it with Ulun Danu Beratan temple a few minutes away, the twin lakes and Banyumala waterfall.
The split gateway at the entrance to Handara, with the forested hills behind. Photo: Shankara42 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Handara Gate at a Glance
- What it is: The split stone gateway at the entrance to Handara Golf & Resort Bali
- Where: On the main Denpasar to Singaraja road at Pancasari, Sukasada district, Buleleng, a few minutes north of Lake Beratan
- Why people come: The photograph in the gap, made famous on social media
- How it works: A photo ticket, a queue number and a short timed turn; drone flights and pre-wedding shoots are charged separately
- Best time: Early morning, on a weekday
- How long: A few minutes for the photo, plus however long the queue is
- Who owns it: The resort, which opened as Bali Handara Country Club in 1976
What the Gate Is
A candi bentar is a gateway shaped like a single temple tower cut cleanly in two, with the halves pulled apart so people can walk through the middle. The outer faces are carved and the inner faces are left plain. The form goes back to the Hindu kingdoms of Singhasari and Majapahit in 13th and 14th century Java, according to Wikipedia's entry on the candi bentar, and in Bali it marks the step from the outside world into the outer courtyard of a temple.
At Handara the same form marks the way into a golf resort. The two towers are dark stone, stepped and carved, and the gap between them lines up with a straight drive through lawns and trees towards the hills. That alignment is the whole picture: stand in the middle, and the gateway frames you against the green.
Why It Became Famous
The gateway belongs to the resort, and for most of its life it was simply the way in. Handara's history page tells the resort's side. Ibnu Sutowo, whom the resort calls the father of golf in Indonesia, began building Bali Handara Country Club in 1974. The 18-hole course was designed by Peter Thomson, five times winner of the British Open, with Michael Wolveridge and Ronald Fream, and the club opened in 1976.
In 1979 Golf Magazine voted it one of the top 50 courses in the world. From 1986 to 2008 it ran as a joint venture with Kosaido of Japan under the name Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club, which is why that name still turns up on maps and in addresses. In 2012, after a week of heavy rain, a mudslide damaged the resort's east wing, and the rebuilding that followed became the Handara brand of today.
The gate's second life came from social media. Travel reporters at detikTravel described it in 2023 as very famous on social media, and said that fame is why people come. The resort now presents it on its own website as one of the most recognisable landmarks on the island.
How the Photo Queue Works
The gate sits on private resort land, and photographing it is paid for. When IDN Times Bali reported on it in November 2024, visitors bought a ticket, took a queue number and had a short, fixed turn each in the gateway, with the rotation keeping the line moving. Indonesian and foreign visitors pay different rates, and detikTravel reported that drone flights and pre-wedding shoots cost more than an ordinary photo.
The ticket covers the photograph at the gate. For the golf course, the rooms or a meal, deal with the resort itself; its page on the gate and its Instagram are the places to check how access works now.
Handara Golf & Resort Bali on Instagram
A few things make the wait easier:
- Decide your shot before your turn. The turn is short. Know which pose you want and who is holding the phone.
- Bring a jacket. Pancasari is high in the mountains, and standing in a queue in cloud gets cold.
- Treat it as you would a temple gate. It belongs to a resort, but the form is the one Balinese people use for their temples, so no climbing on the carvings.
When to Go
The local writers at kumparan recommend morning and late afternoon for the light, and say to come prepared for the weather while you wait. Morning has a practical advantage too, because the highlands around Bedugul tend to cloud over as the day goes on.
Weekdays are quieter than weekends and holidays, when visitors from around Bali drive up to the lakes. In the wet season, roughly November to March, rain can arrive fast, so bring something waterproof for the wait.
Getting There
The gate is on the main road over the mountains between the south and Singaraja, on the right as you head north. IDN Times gives about an hour and a half from central Denpasar and about two hours from the airport. Its directions are simple: drive towards Bedugul, pass the entrance to the Bali Botanic Garden and continue straight until the gate appears on the right.
From the north coast it is the same road in reverse. From Lovina you drive east to Singaraja and climb the mountain road south through the Gitgit area, about 35 km, and the gate is on your left once you reach Pancasari. Allow roughly an hour or a little more. The guide to getting to north Bali covers the routes, and a private driver makes the highland loop easy to do in a day.
What Is Nearby
Lake Buyan and the village of Pancasari from the hills above. Photo: F-GSPY / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
The resort describes itself as sitting inside the crater of a dormant volcano, and the whole area is one high basin of lakes, farms and forest. Everything below is within a short drive.
Pura Ulun Danu Beratan. A few minutes south, on the shore of Lake Beratan in Candikuning village, over the line in Tabanan regency. The temple's official site dates it to around 1634, built by the King of Mengwi, and counts it among the nine Kahyangan Jagat, the most significant temples for Balinese Hindus. More in the Bedugul guide.
Pura Ulun Danu Beratan on Lake Beratan. Photo: Alharomain354 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lakes Buyan and Tamblingan. West of Pancasari, quieter than Beratan, with forest down to the water. See the twin lakes guide, and Wanagiri Hidden Hills for the viewpoints on the ridge above them.
Waterfalls. Banyumala Twin Waterfall at Wanagiri, about 10 km away, has a pool you can swim in. Gitgit is on the road down to the coast, an easy stop on the way back to Lovina. The north Bali waterfalls guide covers the rest.
The Banyumala twin falls. Photo: Made agus devayana / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How to Fit It Into a Day
From Lovina, a highland day could run like this: Banyumala early while the path is dry, the Wanagiri ridge and the lakes late morning, then the Handara Gate and Ulun Danu Beratan before heading back down through Gitgit. Coming from the south, reverse it and stop at the gate on the way up. For longer plans, the three-day north Bali itinerary and photography spots in north Bali take the loop further.
Practical Notes
- Cash for the photo ticket, in small notes.
- Early is better for light, queues and weather.
- A layer for the cool highland air.
- Drones are charged separately at a higher rate; ask at the gate before you fly.
- Staying nearby: the resort itself has rooms. On the coast, Palm Living's villas for rent are around Lovina, about an hour's drive below the gate.
FAQ
What is the Handara Gate? A Balinese split gateway, or candi bentar, at the entrance to Handara Golf & Resort Bali in Pancasari, Buleleng. It is a resort entrance rather than a temple, but it uses the same form as Balinese temple gates, and it became famous online for the photograph taken in the gap.
Do you have to pay to take a photo at the Handara Gate? Yes. You buy a photo ticket at the gate and take a queue number. Indonesian and foreign visitors pay different rates, and drones and pre-wedding shoots cost more. Check with the resort for current terms.
How long is the queue at the Handara Gate? It depends on the time and the day. Each visitor gets a short turn in the gateway, so the line moves steadily, and early mornings on weekdays are the quietest.
How far is the Handara Gate from Lovina? About 35 km up the mountain road through Singaraja and the Gitgit area, roughly an hour or a little more by car. From Denpasar it is about an hour and a half, and about two hours from the airport.
Is the Handara Gate worth visiting? If the photograph matters to you, yes, and it costs little time because it sits on the main road beside Ulun Danu Beratan and the lakes. If it does not, the temple and the lakes nearby are the stronger reasons to be in Pancasari.
What is near the Handara Gate? Pura Ulun Danu Beratan on Lake Beratan a few minutes south, Lakes Buyan and Tamblingan to the west, the Wanagiri viewpoints, Banyumala Twin Waterfall about 10 km away, and Gitgit waterfall on the road down to the north coast.
Sources
- Handara Golf & Resort Bali, Handara Iconic Gate and History, read September 2026 via the Internet Archive copy of October 2025 (the resort's timeline, its description of the gate and its setting)
- Natalia Indah Kartikaningrum, Tiket masuk Handara Gate Bali, gapura ikonik di Bedugul, IDN Times Bali, 25 November 2024 (in Indonesian; the queue, location, directions and drive times)
- Ahmad Masaul Khoiri, Ingat, cuma foto di depan Gerbang Handara Bali ini bayar, detikTravel, 11 January 2023 (in Indonesian; the photo fee, drone and pre-wedding charges, fame on social media)
- Seputar Bali, Handara Gate Bali dengan daya tarik, tiket, dan cara menuju lokasi, kumparan, 24 December 2023 (in Indonesian; best times, separate local and foreign rates)
- Wikipedia, Candi bentar, read September 2026 (the form and its origins)
- DTW Ulun Danu Beratan, official site, read September 2026 (the temple's location and history)
- Distances: OpenStreetMap routing, September 2026
More in the highlands: Munduk along the ridge to the west, and the best temples in north Bali.
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