Tirta Gangga Water Palace

Tirta Gangga, whose name means water from the Ganges, is the most enchanting of the royal water gardens of east Bali. It was built in 1948 by the Raja of Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem, a ruler with a passion for water architecture who also created the nearby Taman Ujung palace. The garden blends Balinese and Chinese influences and is laid out on terraces at the foot of the hills near Amlapura, with pools fed by a sacred spring that is still used for temple ceremonies. The highlight is the main pond, where octagonal stepping stones lead across the water between carved statues of gods, demons and mythological creatures, with fat koi gathering around your feet. Behind it, a tall tiered fountain rises from the centre of the garden, and further up are swimming pools of cool spring water where visitors and local families take a dip. Lawns, frangipani trees, flowering shrubs and the surrounding rice terraces give the whole place a gentle, unhurried mood that contrasts with the grandeur of Besakih or the crowds at Lempuyang. The palace has had a hard history. The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung badly damaged the gardens, and they were restored in the following decades by the royal family, who still own and manage the site. Today Tirta Gangga is both a heritage site and a much-loved local park, busy with Balinese families at weekends. It is small enough to see in an hour, but many visitors linger longer to swim, have lunch at one of the warungs overlooking the rice fields, or walk out into the terraces and hill villages around it.

How to visit: buy a ticket at the entrance and pay a small extra fee if you want to swim in the spring-fed pools. Arrive early to cross the stepping stones before the day-trippers arrive; by late morning in peak season there are queues for photos on the stones. Fish food is sold at the gate. Remember that the springs are sacred: be respectful around the shrine areas and follow posted signs about where swimming is permitted.

Walking from Tirta Gangga: the countryside around the palace is some of the loveliest in east Bali, with rice terraces climbing the slopes towards Mount Agung and small villages linked by footpaths. Local guides offer walks of a few hours through the fields, a good way to see farming life up close. Accommodation in the village is simple and inexpensive, and a night here allows a sunrise walk and an early visit to the gardens before anyone else arrives.

Fitting it into an east Bali loop: Tirta Gangga is about fifteen to twenty minutes from Lempuyang and works perfectly as a calm second stop after the Gate of Heaven. Combine it with the Taman Ujung water palace near Amlapura, the Sidemen valley or Besakih, or continue north to Amed and Tulamben for snorkelling and diving. From Ubud it is around two hours by car, and from the south around two and a half to three hours, so a day trip is long; staying a night in the east makes the region far more enjoyable.