Exploring the East of Bali

East Bali is somehow overlooked by other more popular tourist destination like Ubud, Seminyak and Canggu. East Bali is a bit far from Denpasar. It is a two-hour ride from Denpasar. However, if you prefer to immense yourself to nature and more of the Bali tradition, then East Bali is a perfect place.

There are a lot of places you can visit in East Bali. Most of the tourist places in East Bali are very popular in social media because of its scenic views. We only went to three places in East Bali because it is very far from Nusa Dua from where we stay. From Nusa Dua our travel time is approximately three hours. We also took into consideration the long lines of tourist that we may encounter.

The first place we visited in East Bali is the most Instagrammed Lempuyang Temple where the Gate of Heaven is located. En route to Lempuyang temple you will see the majestic Mount Agung. You will also pass by towns and some rice field.

Lempuyang Temple opens at 7AM everyday and closes at 5PM. Cars are not allowed to go at the Gates of Heaven. At the parking lot there is a booth where you pay 50,000 IDR for a shuttle that will bring you to the Gates of Heaven. The road going up the Gates of Heaven is very steep. When you arrive at the lower ground of the temple, you will have to pay 100,000 IDR for the entrance, getting the iconic photo and for the sarong rental. They will not allow you to enter without the sarong. Men and women need to wear the sarong. There is no need to booked in advance the ticket however it is important that you arrive early because there is usually a long queue of tourist waiting for their turn to get the photo. In our case, since it is off-peaked we just waited for around one hour and thirty minutes. During peak season waiting time can reach up to three hours or more. While waiting for your turn on the photo, you may take pictures on the other area of the temple ground.

The temple ground is all concrete. The reflection shot is a cellphone camera trick. When its your turn for the photo, you will give your mobile phone to one of the staff in the temple. They have a small mirror where they just place your camera lens on top to create the reflection or water trick. You can only do five poses during your turn however; the photographer takes continuous shot so you will get more than five shots. It also better that you have already thought of the pose you will make.

Aside from the Gates of Heaven, you will also have a more beautiful view of Mount Agung. Honestly, I was captivated by Mount Agung more than the Gates of Heaven. Opposite the Gates of Heaven is a set of stairs with dragons and greenery which is also a nice area to take pictures. There are also lesser people taking picture in this area.

After Lempuyang Temple, we went to Tirta Gangga Water Palace. This is just another place where you can get good photos for your social media. The entrance fee for Tirta Gangga is 30,000 IDR. The place is full of ponds with large Koi Fish. You can buy fish food to feed the fish. The most popular attraction in Tirta Gangga are the stepping stones on the pond where you can take pictures. Aside from that the place has a lot of beautiful flowers and ornate carvings. The place can get crowded especially the area where the stepping stones are located. It is better to visit the place earlier to avoid too much crowds. Tirta Gangga opens at 8AM and closes at 5PM. There are also restaurants inside the water palace.

The last place we went to in East Bali is Taman Ujung Palace. It is quite far from Tirta Gangga as it also took us around forty-five minutes to reach the place. Taman Ujung Palace is located near the sea and has three large pools. It is offers a great view of Mount Agung especially in the morning. Entrance fee is 75,000 IDR. You will cross a bridge filled with bougainvilleas to enter the complex. Inside the complex is a building named Gili Bale which is connected to the edge of the pool by a bridge with beautiful arches and detailed stone carvings. Taman Ujung is bigger that Tirta Gangga and Lempuyang Temple. It may take you an hour to completely tour the whole place. If you are in to it, you may climb the stairs and get a better view of the whole palace and the sea. When we went to the complex, there were only three small groups of tourist.

Other place in East Bali to visit is the Virgin Beach and Bukit Cinta where you can have a better view of Mount Agung.