Pura Tirta Empul: Our Guide to Bali's Holy Spring Temple

Pura Tirta Empul Temple is a magnificent Hindu water temple near Ubud that holds historical and spiritual significance.

The temple is built around a natural spring, considered holy by the Balinese. The spring water is used for a purification ritual called Melukat, which aims to cleanse your mind, body, and soul.

Tourists are also encouraged to participate in the ritual here, leading to the temple becoming a popular tourist attraction. We’ve visited Tirta Empul several times, and in this guide, we’ll share some tips for making the most of your visit.

Quick Review: Is Tirta Empul Worth Visiting?

Pura Tirta Empul is a sacred and picturesque Balinese Hindu temple that’s worth visiting for its beautiful architecture and holy springs, as well as it's famous Melukat water purification ceremony.

However, due to its recent fame and popularity, Titra Empul can get extremely busy! You'll need to visit early in the morning if you want a peaceful experience without the huge lines and crowds.

The temple is open to tourists from 7am (despite it saying 8am online), so aim to arrive as soon as you can after this. We arrived at 8am and it was still quiet, but it was already getting busier by the time we left at 9.30am.

Joining the Melukat ceremony is a great way to learn about Balinese Hinduism firsthand. Most locals perform Melukat each month around the full moon, but everyone is welcome to join any time, provided you are respectful.

A guide is not essential, but we would strongly advise getting one anyway. You’ll learn a lot more about the ceremony and your guide will ensure you follow the rules of the ceremony correctly. They can also help capture photos and videos to remember the experience. If you don’t have a guide, you can hire one at the temple.

For the ceremony, you’ll need swimwear to avoid getting your clothes wet. In addition to the entrance fee, you'll need to pay to hire a special Melukat sarong, locker, donation, and guide (optional, but recommended). All of these are cash only, so make sure you have enough. There’s an ATM outside the temple.

After the ceremony, allow time to explore the rest of the temple. We spent 90 minutes here in total, including the ceremony - although we do like to take a lot of photos! We featured this temple in our Ubud one-day itinerary if you're wondering how to plan your day around it.

Getting There

Pura Tirta Empul is located around a 30 minute drive north of central Ubud. Outside the temple is a large parking area suitable for scooters, cars, and buses.

A parking charge of 2,000 IDR per scooter or 5,000 IDR ⓘ per car must be paid at the exit barrier on the way out.

If you don’t have your own transport, consider hiring a private driver or using an online taxi such as Grab or Gojek.

How Much Does it Cost?

Everything is cash-only. There’s an ATM right next to the ticket counter outside the temple should you need it.

If you want to take part in the Melukat purification ceremony, you’ll also need to pay the following fees once inside (make sure you take enough cash):

• Ceremonial sarong - 10,000 IDR ⓘ per person
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• Locker - 15,000 IDR ⓘ per locker - we shared between two
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• Donation to place in the offering – we gave 10,000 IDR each but pay what you like
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• Guide – we paid 100,000 IDR ⓘ for 4 people (no official price – negotiate a fair deal)

When To Visit?

The temple is open to tourists from 7am-6pm. Some information online says it opens at 8am, but this is incorrect.

If you want to enjoy the temple without crowds, visiting early in the morning is essential!

We’ve visited both in the morning and during the afternoon and it's like a completely different place as you can see from the photos below.

On our morning visit, we arrived around 8am when it was peaceful with no crowds or big tour groups. By the time we left, it was already getting much busier. Our recommendation is to arrive between 7am and 8:30am.

We also visited the temple around 1pm on another visit and it was absolutely rammed, with a huge line to take part in the Melukat ceremony.

The temple might get quieter towards the end of the day, but we haven’t tested this for ourselves. 6pm is the last entry time if you do want to give it a go. Once inside, you can stay as long as you like.

There is no best or worst time of year to visit. But it's good to know that water temples are busier around the full moon when most locals come to do Melukat.

What is the Dress Code for Tirta Empul?

Pura Tirta Empul is a sacred temple for Balinese Hindus, so remember to dress modestly and respectfully. Everyone entering the temple is required to wear a sarong which is provided for free at the entrance.

To take part in the Melukat ceremony, you'll need to wear your swimwear and a special green sarong - don't wear the regular one they give you into the water. You can rent the Melukat sarongs for 10,000 IDR ⓘ inside the temple.

How To Take Part in the Melukat Ceremony

Melukat is the name of the purification ritual that you can do at Pura Tirta Empul. It’s a spiritual purification that cleanses the mind, body, and soul from impurities.

From start to finish, the Melukat ceremony took us around an hour.

Here is a guide to each step of the process:

Step One: Get Changed

You’ll need to wear a specific ceremony sarong. This is different from the regular sarong you are provided with on the way in.

Sarongs and lockers can be hired from the counter in the middle courtyard, just before the Melukat springs (ask someone if you can’t find it).

You’ll want to keep swimwear on underneath the sarong, so make sure you have this with you. There are separate changing areas for men and women, but there aren't individual cubicles inside so privacy is limited. It’s best if you're already wearing your swimwear underneath your clothes.

You can’t take anything into the Melukat pools with you, so put everything inside the lockers, except for your phone or camera which you can give to your guide.

Step Two: Find a Guide (optional but recommended)

Although having a guide isn't essential, we’d strongly recommend it. If you're not already travelling with one, you can hire a freelance guide at the temple.

They’ll lead you through every step of the process and ensure you follow the rules correctly. Failing to do so could be disrespectful, whether intentional or unintentional.

For example, there are some fountains that you should skip during the ritual as their waters are only to be used in cremation ceremonies – you might not realise this without a guide.

Belongings are not allowed into the Melukat pools, so your guide can also take photos and videos of your experience for you. We armed our guide with a phone and camera – many of the images in this article were taken by him.

Step Three: Make an Offering

The next step is to make an offering to the gods.

Your guide will provide you with a Canang Sari, a small offering basket made from woven palm leaves and filled with flowers, incense, and other symbolic items.

Add your cash donation to the basket and place it on the shrine. You can then sit on the floor in front of the shrine and make prayers for your loved ones.

Step Four: Melukat

Now it’s time for the purification ritual itself which takes place in the holy pools within the central courtyard (Jaba Tengah).

There are three pools, with 13, 2, and 6 fountains respectively. You’ll enter the pools and visit the fountains one by one. At each fountain, there are four things you should do.

The first is to place your hands together and make a prayer. Each fountain has a different purpose so you should make a prayer or wish relative to that fountain. It can be difficult to remember the purpose of each one in the moment, so simply make a wish that you hope to come true.

After praying, you'll be told to take three ‘sips’ of the water from the fountain. Even though this is spring water, the hygiene is questionable so we’d recommend that you just wash it over your mouth three times rather than swallowing it.

Next, you must wash it over your entire face three times. And finally, lean into the fountain and wash your whole head underneath it – this part is very refreshing!

Here are a few other rules to be aware of during the Melukat:

• Don’t use soap or shampoo
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• Don’t spit or urinate in the water (this should go without saying!)
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• Don't swear during the ritual
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• Women shouldn’t take part during their period

How To Avoid the Tourist Traps

Unfortunately, Tirta Empul’s popularity means there are several tourist traps throughout the temple. Here are some tips so that you can avoid them:

1. A free sarong is provided for you – Opportunistic sellers may encourage you to buy a sarong by telling you it's 'essential'. Although there is some truth in this, know that sarongs are provided for free at the entrance – you don’t need to buy one. This scam isn’t as prevalent here as at other temples in Bali, but it's still good to be aware of it.
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2. Negotiate the price of a guide – There are no official guide prices. Like any tourist hotspot, the guides will go in with a high starting price. Don’t be afraid to negotiate them down. We paid 100,000 IDR ⓘ for our guide between 4 people which seemed very reasonable.
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3. Take the local exit next to the entrance – If you follow the ‘exit’ signs, you’ll be directed to the tourist exit via a maze of souvenir shops. It's like an airport duty-free on steroids. The sellers are overly persistent and the same items can be found cheaper in other markets in Ubud. Fortunately, there’s another unmarked way out right next to the entrance which most tourists don't know about. Watch carefully and you'll notice that the locals leave this way.
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4. Don’t be drawn in by the Luwak coffee touts - When returning to the parking area after your temple visit, ‘friendly’ locals might approach you to recommend visiting a Luwak coffee plantation nearby. They’ll even offer to take you there with free entry. Be mindful that they aren't doing this out of the goodness of their hearts – but to earn a commission for each person they take. Do your research into the ethics before agreeing to go anywhere like this.

What Else Is There To See?

There is more to the temple than the Melukat ceremony, so allow time to wander around and enjoy the beautiful architecture and intricately carved statues.

We spent 90 minutes at Tirta Empul in total, this included around 60 minutes doing the Melukat and a further 30 minutes exploring and taking photos.

When exploring, it helps to have an understanding of the temple layout which is made up of three main areas:

• Outer Courtyard (Jaba Pisan) – When you first arrive at Tirta Empul, you’ll pass through a large orange brick gate guarded by two statues. Through this gate, you’ll find the outer courtyard which is the area that connects the sacred space and the outside world. This is where you’ll see the large koi fish pond with various statues from Hindu mythology around it.

• Middle Courtyard (Jaba Tengah) – The next section is the inner courtyard, this is the main area of the temple and is where the Melukat ritual takes place in the dedicated pools with fountains.

• Inner Courtyard (Jeroan) – Beyond the middle courtyard is the inner courtyard. This is the holiest part of the temple and is where you’ll find shrines to many different gods. You'll also see the large sacred pool which is fed by the Tirta Empul natural spring which gives the temple its name. The water from this spring also supplies the Melukat fountains.

While exploring the temple, you might notice a grand building on a hill overlooking the complex, notable for the modern bridge connecting it to the road. This is Tampaksiring Palace, a place of residence built especially for Indonesian President Sukarno when he visited in 1954. It's still used as a villa for welcoming important guests, although it isn’t open to the public.

Quick History and Facts

Pura Tirta Empul is a water temple in the Tampaksiring region of central Bali dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation. Vishnu is often associated with water as it's a vital element for life and preservation.

The temple was built in 962AD around the holy spring named ‘Tirta Empul’. This is an important spring in Balinese mythology.

According to legend, the evil king Mayadenawa caused chaos in Bali, destroying temples and preventing religious ceremonies. Balinese priests prayed for help. As a result, Lord Indra descended to Earth to defeat the king.

During the battle, the evil king crept into the barracks of Lord Indra's army. In doing so, he left slanted footprints in the mountainside (giving the area its name "Tampaksiring" - 'tampak' meaning ‘foot’ and 'siring' meaning ‘slanted’).

Once inside, he created a spring of poisonous water called ‘Pancuran Cetik’ which led to illness among the army.

To save them, Lord Indra created his own spring, this one with healing water, now known as ‘Tirta Empul’. Lord Indra eventually won the war on the Wednesday of the 11th week in the Pawukon calendar, this was the first Galungan Day and continues to be celebrated every 210 days.

Today, the Tirta Empul spring continues to provide holy spring water to the temple, while the poisonous spring, Pancuran Cetik, has dried up. On the way into the temple, there’s a large statue of Lord Indra in recognition of the temple's origin.