Buyan and Tamblingan Lakes

Buyan and Tamblingan sit side by side at around twelve hundred metres in the Bedugul caldera in northern Bali, once a single lake, now separated by a narrow forested ridge left by a landslide, and they are quieter than Beratan next door because motorboats are banned - Tamblingan is used only by dugout canoes, and the forest around it is protected as a sacred area under Balinese customary rules, with a set of small temples on the shore. The Twin Lakes viewpoint on the road gives both at once, which is the standard stop. The area is part of the Balinese subak water landscape inscribed by UNESCO, since these lakes feed the irrigation system that supplies the terraces below. Walking trails run round Tamblingan and over the ridge between the two.

What you actually see

• Two lakes divided by a ridge - once one body of water, split by a landslide.
• Dugout canoes only - motorboats banned, particularly on Tamblingan.
• Sacred lakeside temples - the pura on the Tamblingan shore under customary protection.
• The subak headwaters - the lakes that feed Bali's irrigation system below.

When to go

April to October; mornings before cloud. A day.

Honest expectations

Cloud and rain are frequent at this altitude. The viewpoint is a roadside stop with vendors and can be crowded. Trails are muddy. Respect the customary rules around Tamblingan's sacred areas.

Nearby

Munduk and its waterfalls are west; Bedugul and Beratan are east.