By Vicky · Published Jul. 27th, 2022 · Updated Nov. 21st, 2022
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Hike from Tirtga Gangga through beautiful rice fields, via Bukit Cinta viewpoint and up the hills to Lempuyang Temple and the famous Gates.
Hiking Map
Get the route by downloading the .gpx or .kml file below. For navigation with Maps.me on your mobile phone, simply download the .kml file and open to add it to the Maps.me bookmarks.
Location
This walk starts from Tirta Gangga Water Palace, about 20 km (35 minutes) north of Candidasa. We walked to Tirta Gangga from Tenganan Village the day before.
Tips for Hike from Tirta Gangga to Lempuyang Temple
- We carried our rucksacks and continued walking from Lempuyang Temple to Ahmed. Alternatively, it’s easy to get a taxi from Lempuyang Temple.
- You can walk to Tirta Gangga from Tenganan Village.
- Set off early to avoid the heat of the day.
- Remember sunscreen, sunhat and sunglasses
- Take plenty of water and snacks, there are not many warungs on the route.
- In Tirta Gangga the night before we stayed in Pondok Alam Bukit*.
- Check out the Best Hikes in Bali, or discover other hikes and bike rides in our Bali Guide.
Tirta Gangga
From Tirta Gangga Water Palace (Tripadvisor Reviews*), head left up the road as it bends around the corner. Continue walking around the hill and after about 1 km you’ll see a path heading through the rice fields to your right.
Through the Rice fields
The small path heads straight through some beautiful rice fields. To start with there is a camp with many sculptures and huts by the path. Soon you pass that and come across villagers working in the fields. The path continues along the edge of the fields by a little irrigation channel. After rain this channel can cause some slight flooding of the path. However, you can always find your way around by looking for where the villagers must have gone, and these wet sections only last 10 metres or so.
About 1.5 km from the road, you’ll reach a tarred track and some motorbikes. Remember to keep looking backwards, up at Mount Agung. After another 15 minutes walking down the track you’ll reach a junction with the road.
Walking to Bukit Cinta
At the junction, turn left to head up along the road. You’ll wiggle through a small village, then turn right at another junction. Head right again at a T-junction and soon you’ll reach Bukit Cinta viewpoint. It’s on the right-hand side of the road at a corner. There’s a muddy path here into a rice field. Roughly 10 metres later there’s an area at the top of a slope where everyone stands to take photos of rice fields with Mount Agung in the background.
A few metres further down the road is Bali Asli Restaurant (Website, Tripadvisor Reviews*). There are super beautiful views from here, and it’s a great place to relax before continuing with the hike to Lempuyang Temple.
Along and Up the Hill
Return back to the T-junction, and this time continue straight on and take the next right. At the next junction turn left and at the start of the next village head right along a small road, down and across a bridge. From here the ascent starts.
Take the first left, then right at the next T-junction. Continue walking up this small road all the way until you reach a temple. The route gets steeper and steeper as you go, and you’ll see some nice views over to Mount Agung and some cute houses and cows.
At the first temple, you can explore a bit inside, then return to the entrance. There’s a small path and steps (covered in a bit of rubbish near the beginning) along the outside lefthand wall of the temple. It’s slightly overgrown, but the steps are in fairly good condition and the way is clear. This section is fairly steep, but soon you’ll be at the temples above – Pura Telaga Sawang and Pura Lempuyang Madya. These are within the Lempuyang Temple complex.
Lempuyang Temple
You should put on your sarongs before entering the temples. There aren’t any tickets and it’s free to get in. There are some little warungs here to buy a coke or cold water and perhaps some snacks. You can see great views of Mt Agung from here if the weather is clear. The steps that lead up to the highest temples continue around the right, back side of Pura Lempuyang Madya. We asked someone for the way, but actually it’s obvious if you walk around the temple.
Shortcut: Head back to where you entered the temple complex and straight on up the steps on the left-hand side, not those on the right. You’ll miss out on visiting the highest temples but will continue on a lower route towards the famous Lempuyang Temple Gates.
The Highest Temples and the top of Gunung Bisbis
From now on there are many more steps. First upwards, then down. From the lower temples it’s 200 metres up steps to reach the top ridge and another temple. From there it’s quite a gentle walk along the ridge towards the summit of Gunung Bisbis and the highest temple. The jungle slightly obstructs the view, but you can find some gaps and see all the way down to the ocean far below (if it’s not misty!).
If you’re interested in Bali discover more….
Heading down to Lempuyang Temple Gates
From the top, retrace your steps to the other temple on the ridge, and then make sure you take the right-hand fork on the steps leading downwards. It’s a long way down, then another path comes in directly from the first temples you met. Turn right here, past another temple, and you’ll reach an area of warungs and motorbikes. Several will ask you if you want a ride.
Continue walking down the road and it’s about 1 km to the main, most visited temple of Lempuyang. This is the one with the temple gates. However, if you’ve seen the beautiful reflection photos, you might be disappointed. In reality, there isn’t a reflection pool, the gates aren’t floating on water, but a guy is sitting there with a mirror causing a reflection in your camera lens.
This guy charges a small amount to take photos of you with your camera in various photos in the gate. However, there can be a queue of several hours. You’ll get given a numbered ticket so you can leave and come back later but still keep your place in the queue. There are several cafes with lovely views around the temple, and we had lunch at one of these.
Continuing Onwards from Lempuyang Temple
From Lempuyang Temple Gates, we hiked onwards to our accommodation in Ahmed (12 km downhill, 3-4 hours). Alternatively, there are many taxis hanging around the temple so it’s easy to get a ride to wherever you want to go next.
Guidebooks to explore more of Bali & Lombok
Check out the Best Hikes in Bali, or if you like cycling try our Sidemen Valley Cycling Loop from Candidasa. Discover other hikes and bike rides in our Bali Guide.
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