Handara Gate, Bali: The Split Gateway at Pancasari, the Photo Queue and the Day Around It

In Brief

The Handara Gate is the split stone gateway at the entrance to Handara Golf & Resort Bali in Pancasari, Sukasada district, Buleleng. It stands on the mountain road between Bedugul and the north coast, in the highlands between Lake Beratan and Lake Buyan. In its well-known photograph you stand in the gap, and the drive runs away behind you into green hills.

The gate is a candi bentar, the split gateway used at the entrances of Balinese temples and palaces. That one picture made it famous on social media.

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 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

The Gate Is a Candi Bentar, the Split Gateway of Balinese Temples

A candi bentar is a gateway shaped like a single temple tower cut cleanly in two. The halves are pulled apart so people can walk through the middle. The outer faces are carved and the inner faces are left plain.

Wikipedia's entry on the candi bentar traces the form to the Hindu kingdoms of Singhasari and Majapahit, in 13th and 14th century Java. 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.

The gap between them lines up with a straight drive through lawns and trees towards the hills. Stand in the middle, and the gateway frames you against the green.

Social Media Made a Resort Entrance 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:

• 1974: Ibnu Sutowo, whom the resort calls the father of golf in Indonesia, began building Bali Handara Country Club.
• 1976: The club opened. Its 18-hole course was designed by Peter Thomson, five times winner of the British Open, with Michael Wolveridge and Ronald Fream.
• 1979: Golf Magazine voted it one of the top 50 courses in the world.
• 1986 to 2008: It ran as a joint venture with Kosaido of Japan under the name Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club. That name still turns up on maps and in addresses.
• 2012: After a week of heavy rain, a mudslide damaged the resort's east wing. 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.

The Photo Is Ticketed: a Queue Number and a Short Turn

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 and took a queue number. Each had a short, fixed turn in the gateway, and the rotation kept the line moving.

Indonesian and foreign visitors pay different rates. 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

Map

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: Early Morning, on a Weekday

The local writers at kumparan recommend morning and late afternoon for the light. They also 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. Bring something waterproof for the wait.

Getting There: the Gate Is on the Main Road Over the Mountains

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, then climb the mountain road south through the Gitgit area. The distance is 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: a Lake Temple, the Twin Lakes and Two Waterfalls

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. The whole area is one high basin of lakes, farms and forest, and each stop below is a short drive from the gate.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, a Few Minutes South

The temple stands on the shore of Lake Beratan in Candikuning village, over the line in Tabanan regency. Its official site dates it to around 1634, built by the King of Mengwi. The site counts it among the nine Kahyangan Jagat, the most significant temples for Balinese Hindus.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan on Lake Beratan. Photo: Alharomain354 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Bedugul guide has more on the temple.

Lakes Buyan and Tamblingan, West of Pancasari

The two lakes are 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.

Banyumala and Gitgit 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 in this order:

1. Banyumala early, while the path is dry.

2. The Wanagiri ridge and the lakes in the late morning.

3. The Handara Gate and Ulun Danu Beratan.

4. The road back down to the coast 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.