Tirta Empul

Pura Tirta Empul was founded in 962 around a spring that rises in the temple courtyard, and its purpose is melukat, ritual purification: bathers enter a rectangular pool fed by a row of carved spouts and move along them in sequence, praying and putting their head under each in turn, with two spouts at the end reserved for rites for the dead and not used by the living. The spring's water is regarded as tirta, holy water, and is carried away for use elsewhere. Balinese come in large numbers on particular calendar days. Visitors may bathe if they follow the procedure, wear the sarong and cloth correctly and enter with a purpose - and the temple has published guidance because a good deal of thoughtless behaviour has occurred here. On the hill above is a presidential palace built by Sukarno.

History

The temple was founded in AD 962, under the Warmadewa dynasty, around a large spring named Tirta Empul, the source of the Pakerisan River, and it is dedicated to Vishnu. It is laid out in three courts, the outer Jaba Pura, the middle Jaba Tengah and the inner Jeroan, and the middle court holds two pools with thirty spouts. On the hill above, a villa was built for President Sukarno's visit in 1954, and it is now a guesthouse for important visitors (Wikipedia, Tirta Empul).

The main sights

• A row of purification spouts - bathers moving along them in prescribed order.
• The spring in the courtyard - the source the temple was built around in 962.
• Two spouts left unused - reserved for rites for the dead.
• Sukarno's palace above - the presidential residence on the ridge.

When to go

April to October; early morning before the tour groups. Half a day.

What to expect

This is an active purification rite, not a swimming pool - follow the order, skip the two funerary spouts and dress as instructed. Queues build from mid-morning. Menstruating women are asked not to enter.

Nearby

Gunung Kawi is close; Ubud is south-west.

Key facts