Tirta Empul temple, also known as the Holy Spring temple is one of the most well known and visited temples in Bali. The temple is a Hindu Balinese holy water temple, located in the village of Manukaya in central Bali . You may have seen pictures of this temple if you’ve ever done any research on Bali temples, they are so special! The temple courtyard houses the rectangular purification bath where there are approximately 20 beautifully sculpted spouts lined from west to east. Some of the spouts are designated for purification of funerary rites, which we were told to skip. The temple pond gives out fresh water regularly from a nearby spring, which they consider to be holy.

The Balinese Hindus and now many tourists visit this temple for ritual purification and prayer, allowing hundreds of people to pass through daily. After doing some research and seeing pictures I knew I wanted to visit this sacred temple, all the while respecting the Balinese Hindu culture of course.

A couple things you should know if you ever plan to visit this temple or any in Bali really. First, you must dress respectfully. The dress code is a traditional kamen wrap (sarong) around the lower body with a sash around the waist. It is also important to cover your shoulders as well. They do have sarongs for rent if you do not have one, however I am not sure if you are allowed to get them wet. Second, women are prohibited entry of any temples or sacred sites during menstruation. You can actually get fined if you go against their wishes and they find out, so please be respectful of their culture and sacred grounds. Plus, it’s just bad juju! Next, there is another temple behind the holy water bath which you cannot enter when wet, so if you’d like to go inside, I suggest visiting before you get wet. Lastly, we hired a driver to take us and we arrived around 9 am which was perfect. It really started getting busy as we were leaving around 10 am. A driver can also help you understand the rituals and guide you through the process, Putu, our driver, was a great help. The cost to enter the temple was 30,000 IDR which is about $2 a person. We hired Putu for the entire day and visited some other sites too, I highly suggest doing this since a lot of the sites are close to one another. I liked knocking it all out in one day and it was definitely worth the money (more on that in the next blog).

As for my personal experience at Tirta Empul, I anxiously stepped foot onto the temple grounds and was feeling a bit nervous. I didn’t know what to expect or how to feel. I definitely had some thoughts in mind that I wanted to call to prayer and I was already emotional just thinking about it. I had been traveling with a couple friends in Bali so I got to share this experience with 3 other amazing women. We all stepped into the bath, the water was cool crystal clear with a loose rock bottom and koi fish swimming throughout. I asked the girls if they wanted to do a quick prayer circle before we began our individual cleansing from spout to spout. We held hands and bowed our heads, no one said anything out loud, but no one needed to. This was such a beautiful moment of connection and love, literally all the feels. After a few tears, we began the ritual purification process. With my hands in prayer, I gave an offering at each of the 13 holy water spouts. Most of my offerings were different, some the same. I just allowed myself to feel open and vulnerable, praying for whatever came to me in those moments. After I finished and stepped out of the bath, everything seemed hazy. I was super zoned out and I was just reflecting on how/ what I was feeling. I felt some tingling down my left arm into my fingers for about 30 minutes after I got out, at first I thought I was just cold, but I knew I was different. I surrendered to all the feelings, physical and emotional, so powerful!

I am so grateful for the people of Bali to have allowed me to step foot into their sacred spaces during my time there. To be able to experience the power of cleansing rituals and purifications was so beautiful. I have the utmost respect for their culture and how they do life. I would definitely recommend visiting Tirta Empul temple if you are planning a trip to Bali, just do your research and ask locals questions, they are the sweetest people and happy to educate you!

If you have any specific questions about the temple or my experience please reach out, I would love to chat!

Anayat ❤

Tirta Empul Bali