Naked truth about the most famous and controversial instagram spot on the island.
Pura Luhur Lempuyang is a Balinese Hindu temple located in East Bali, in the region of Lempuyang, in the slope of Mount Lempuyang in Karangasem. This pura or how you prefer – the temple, is famous because of the iconic gates of heaven. You may already be familiar with this location, as it is the most famous Instagram spot on the entire island, perhaps rivaling the legendary Tegalalang Rice Terrace Swing.
As the spot seems to divide travellers and it has become really controversial, today I will share with you some interesting facts about the gates of heaven and I would give you tips (including some spoilers:) on how to make the best out of your time at Pura Luhur Lempuyang. In the end I will share with you my personal opinion and I would be happy to hear yours:)
How to get to Bali’s Heaven’s Gate from Ubud?
The best way to get to Pura Luhur Lempuyang is to hire a local driver in advance. I can recommend you a great one if you are interested. Do you know we found him? He was one of the Grab drivers, who we met on the island. Because his English was really good and we had a great conversation, we just asked him if we would like to spend with us some days and be our private driver. Of course it is really important to agree to the price before! As i mentioned in my previous article, the price for the driver rental services is really good on Bali and Balinese people are the best local tour guides. They know a lot of amazing hidden spots.
What about taxi? Taking into consideration the amount of people visiting Heaven’s Gate every day, it is way better to have someone waiting for you, who can drive you back at the time when you want that. Otherwise, you might have two problems: you would need to wait a long time for your taxi driver to arrive and taxi services might become really expensive. The same with Grab.
When to arrive to Pura Luhur Lempuyang?
Currently, the temple opens at 6 am and closes at 7 pm. I would recommend you to get there as early as possible, because it might be very crowded and do not forget that you will also need to wait for your turn to take the iconic picture in the most popular spot on Bali. In my opinion, 5 o clock would not be a bad idea. It also depends if you want to see a sunrise there.
Currently, the temple opens at 6 am and closes at 7 pm. I would recommend you to get there as early as possible, because it might be very crowded and do not forget that you will also need to wait for your turn to take the iconic picture in the most popular spot on Bali. In my opinion, 5 o clock would not be a bad idea. It also depends if you want to see a sunrise there.
As we were staying in Ubud, in our case getting there required many hours of driving, and honestly I was really skeptical about visiting the temple just to take the picture. It was my boyfriend who really insisted on waking up at 4 o clock in the morning to get to the temple as early as possible. And you know what? For us it was definitely worth it, because I need to admit it that my best pictures from Bali were taken at Pura Luhur Lempuyang. Nevertheless, you need to know that the famous pictures with water are some kind of camera optical illusion. Still I did not regret having gone there and I would do it again.
How much is the entrance fee?
The entrance fee is 100,000 IDR. On top of that there is an additional fee for parking if you are on scooter or car the fee would be 5,000 IDR. Please remember that sarong is also required to be worn around your legs and your shoulders and you must be covered when visiting this sacred Hindu temple.
Do I need to bring my own saron to the temple?
We did not bring our sarons, as we were not aware that we had to. It was not a problem, because you can rent them there. The design is really nice and by wearing them your pictures look just fantastic.
How to take photos at the Gates of Heaven, Bali?
As I mentioned before, the water in the pictures is just the optical illusion. To get one of the famouse iconic pictures from the The Gateway to Heaven you need to queue for a couple of hours. It might take two or three hours and of course it depends on how many people are waiting in the line. The famous pictures are made by the Balinese people, who are at the gate to help you with a shot. You do not have to pay them anything. How does it work or rather what is the trick? The water is just the reflection of the sky and it is made with the mirror placed closed to your camera. This is the whole secret, but in my opinion the guys make great shots and I had no problem to wait two hours for my turn.
You might also ask what if you just need to take a picture by yourself? If you would jump really fast to the gate it might be realistic to take some pictures. Of course if you are faster than the next people waiting the line. That might be frustrating. On top of that the quality of your pictures might differ from what you can expect by the Balinese guys taking your shots.
What can I see there apart from the Heaven’s Gate?
The Pura Lempuyang is a really nice temple with an amazing view on the of Mount Lempuyang. We were lucky to be at the temple during a Hindu ceremony.
And of course the most important question that I would like to answer:
Should I visit Pura Lempuyang or skip it?
If you are a patient Instagramer (like me), who would love to take an amazing iconic picture, you should definitely vist Heaven’s Gate on Bali. On the other hand, if you are looking for a quiet, non-touristic spot and you don’t like crowded places and waiting in the line even for hours, maybe you can just read my pervious article and travel to some different destination.
What about me? I was lucky to be on Bali in May and it was not really crowded so I enjoyed my experience at Pura Lempuyang temple and I love every single picture that I took there. For me it was really worth it.