In short. You enter a temple in Bali in a sarong and with a sash at the waist, with shoulders and knees covered; at tourist temples a sarong is handed out or rented at the ticket desk. A tourist may enter the outer courtyard, the inner and middle courtyards are off limits: this is point 2a of the governor's circular of 2025, with one exception, prayer in Balinese dress. Women during menstruation do not enter any courtyard, as written in the provincial regulation of 2020 and in the circular. During a ceremony stand to the side, do not walk in front of those praying and do not photograph them up close. Climbing on walls and altars, being photographed undressed, being rude and making noise are forbidden: the village imposes adat sanctions for this, damage and theft are dealt with under criminal law, and a foreigner may be deported.
The two documents that temples live by. The first is Bali Governor's Regulation No. 25 of 2020 on protecting temples, pratima (consecrated images of deities) and religious symbols. It is addressed to the temples and village communities themselves, but chapter V records bans for everyone. The second is the governor's circular No. 07 of 2025 on rules for foreign tourists, which we retold in full in the guide to rules for tourists. The third level is the rules of the temple and the village themselves: the signs at the entrance and the words of the attendant matter more than any guidebook, this one included.
How a temple is laid out and where the line is for a tourist. A Balinese temple, a pura, is a fenced area of three courtyards, which the regulation of 2020 calls Tri Mandala. The outer courtyard (nista mandala, in Balinese jaba sisi) has gates, shelters, often cafes and shops. The middle courtyard (madya mandala, jaba tengah) has pavilions for preparing for a ceremony. The inner courtyard (utama mandala, jeroan) has altars and multi-tiered meru towers, and people enter it only to pray. The circular of 2025, point 2a, forbids foreign tourists to enter the utama and madya mandala; there is one exception: prayer in Balinese traditional dress and not during menstruation. In practice a tourist temple sells a ticket to the outer courtyard and shows the inner courtyards through the gate or from a terrace; where the line runs you can see from a rope, a sign or an attendant at the split gate, the candi bentar. If in doubt, ask "boleh masuk?", that is "may I enter?".
Who may not enter a temple at all. Article 45 of the regulation of 2020 forbids entering a temple in a state of cuntaka or sebel. Article 1 defines this state as impurity after the death of a close person, after the birth of a child, during menstruation and in other cases that tradition treats as unclean. The ban applies to all courtyards, not only the inner one, and to guests too: under article 13 the temple must put up a sign with this ban at the entrance. Nobody will check, it is a matter of trust and respect; women on such days are better off waiting outside or moving the visit. The same article 45 says that only those connected with a ceremony or prayer enter the temple, so temples open to tourism admit guests under their own rules and only to the outer part.
What to wear. The duty to dress modestly and neatly in temples is written in the circular of 2025, point 1c. In practice this is:
- A sarong (kamen) to the ankles, wrapped round the waist, and a sash (selendang) at the waist. Both men and women need them, over any clothes, trousers included.
- Covered shoulders: a T-shirt or shirt with sleeves, no low neckline and no bare stomach. Beachwear stays for the beach, as the circular says.
- Any footwear: in Balinese temples you do not need to take your shoes off unless the attendant asks. Take off a hat near the altars.
At large tourist temples a sarong and sash are handed out at the ticket desk or rented for a small fee: so at Uluwatu, Tirta Empul, Besakih, Lempuyang and Goa Gajah. A light sarong of your own in your bag saves a queue and is handy on the beach against the sun. At Tanah Lot and at Bratan tourists walk through the park around the temple, and a sarong is usually not asked for there, but still cover your shoulders and knees.
How to behave. Rules from the circular and from article 45 of the regulation, plus what any Balinese will teach you:
- Do not climb on walls, gates, altars and sacred trees and do not sit on them: the circular directly forbids climbing on sacred buildings and trees.
- Do not photograph yourself undressed or in provocative poses: for indecent photos in holy places the circular provides sanctions under the law, and there have been cases of deportation for such photos.
- During a ceremony stand to the side and stay quiet, do not walk in front of those praying, do not stand higher than the priest, do not use a flash. The circular requires silence and respect for processions.
- Do not step on canang, the small baskets of flowers on the ground: they are offerings, and they are put on pavements and steps too.
- Do not touch pratima, masks and cloths on altars and do not go behind the curtain.
- Do not eat, drink alcohol or smoke on the grounds, do not leave rubbish; single-use plastic is banned in Bali by the circular.
- Monkeys at Uluwatu and in the monkey forest in Ubud snatch glasses and phones: put them away in advance, and feeding them is not allowed.
Ceremonies and closed days. Every temple has an odalan festival once every 210 days, and at the big festivals, Galungan and Kuningan, temples are full of people. On such days tourists may be refused or admitted only to the outer courtyard; at Besakih during the Ida Bhatara Turun Kabeh ceremony in March and April guests are admitted only as far as the square in front of Penataran Agung. The dates of festivals are in the calendar for 2027. On Nyepi, the day of silence, the whole island is closed, details in the guide to Nyepi. If you came across a ceremony by chance, it is a stroke of luck: stand to the side in a sarong, photograph from a distance without a flash, do not walk between the procession and the altar.
The penalty for breaking the rules. Article 46 of the regulation of 2020: for entering in a state of impurity or without connection to a ceremony, the village community and temple attendants impose adat sanctions. There are three kinds: a fine (artha danda), a public apology (pengaksama danda) and a temple purification rite (sangaskara danda). Damage to a temple, theft of a pratima and desecration of religious symbols are dealt with under criminal law. The circular of 2025 adds for foreigners measures under the immigration law, up to deportation, details in the guide to the rules.
Ritual bathing at Tirta Empul and other springs. Tourists are allowed to take part in the bathing, but it is a rite, and its order is set by the temple. What is certain: you need a sarong, you enter the water after the locals and in turn, without soap and without diving. We do not describe the rite itself, it differs in every temple: listen to the attendant and repeat after the Balinese.
Where to go: temples open to tourists. Prices and hours are collected in the guide to sights, here are routes with maps.
- Uluwatu on a cliff above the ocean, sunset and the kecak dance: the "Bukit in a day" route.
- Tirta Empul with its springs and Goa Gajah, the elephant cave: the "Ubud in a day" route.
- Ulun Danu Beratan on the lake and Batukaru in the forest on the mountainside: the "Munduk with an overnight stay" route, and Beratan is also in the "North in a day" route.
- Besakih, the main temple of the island, the Lempuyang gate and Goa Lawah with its bats: the "Sidemen and Lempuyang" route.
- Tanah Lot on a coastal rock in Tabanan, half an hour from Canggu: the temple on the rock itself is closed to tourists, the park around it and the sunset from the shore are open.
- Taman Ayun in Mengwi, a royal temple with a moat, part of the same UNESCO site as the Jatiluwih terraces: half an hour from Canggu on the road north.
Our advice. Come at opening time or an hour before sunset: it is cool, there are fewer people, the light is softer. Buy your own sarong and sash at any market and carry them in your bag. Before a big temple, find out whether there is a ceremony that day. And treat the temple as someone else's home where you have been let in: quietly, dressed properly, without extra photos.
What this means for you. A sarong and covered shoulders, only the outer courtyard, silence at a ceremony and no tricks on the walls: that is enough for any temple in Bali to welcome you as a guest. The rules are written in the regulation of 2020 and the circular of 2025, and breaking them ends in a village fine, a purification rite or deportation.