Lempuyang Temple, The Famous Gates of Heaven
Bali has so much more to offer to its visitors other than beaches. Bali is an island full of culture, heritage and rich history, not to mention the amazing views of nature you can enjoy throughout the island. One of the most popular places where the Balinese culture and nature meet in a stunning way is Lempuyang Temple or better known to tourists as Gates of Heaven.
About Lempuyang Temple
Pura Lempuyang or Lempuyang Temple is located on the slopes of a mountain with the same name in Karangasem. The Lempuyang Temple is a part of a larger temple called Lempuyang Luhur Temple. This temple is one of the six holiest temples on the island and should be on your itinerary when you are planning your Bali tour.
In the Lempuyang Temple complex, there are seven temples but the most famous one is called Pura Penataran Agung where you can see the extremely popular Gates of Heaven. From the gates, you can see the clouds as if you are taking a look at heaven itself. If you’re lucky you can see the magnificent Mount Agung from the gates.
When to Visit Lempuyang Temple
The Gates of Heaven is an extremely popular tourist site and every single day hundreds of people flock here, especially to take pictures. So if you want to have a chance to have your pictures taken, you should really time your visit well. First, it is indeed beautiful here during the sunrise since you can see Mount Agung, but it is not recommended to go here during the sunrise.
It’s because the words of how beautiful it is here during sunrise were spread and now every early morning, you would see a very long queue. Once you get your chance for pictures, it could be too late and the clouds are there covering Mount Agung. Even if you got there super early, it could be too dark to take pictures and you can’t wait since you have to take your turn and then leave.
The Gates of Heaven gets so crowded in the morning, so it’s recommended for you to go there during the sunset instead. While you would still have a crowd, it would be less and sometimes a lot less than the sunrise crowd. During this time, you could take your time and savor the moments unlike when you do it during sunrise which could be such an inconvenience.
What to Do After You Take the Pictures?
When you visit Lempuyang Temple, you might wonder what to do after you take your pictures since it was such a waste to visit a huge temple complex just to take pictures at one spot. Well if you want, you can try to climb up the stairs and visit the parts of the temple but you need to allocate several hours for this, and make sure you are completely fit since you need to climb around 1,700 steps.
If you want to catch the sunrise but don’t want to get involved in the chaos of waiting in the Gates of Heaven, you should do it in Lahangan Sweet. Located in the north of Lempuyang Temple, you can enjoy the view of the sunrise without so many people around you and you can savor the moments or even take as many pictures as you want.
After catching the stunning sunrise, you can go to Tirta Gangga in the southwest of the temple. In here you can see a pool full of koi fish with numerous Balinese statues stand gracefully above the pool. Built by the King of Karangasem, this place is perfect for you during your Bali honeymoon. Taking your pictures here with your husband or wife would be very sweet.
How to Get Here?
Lempuyang Temple is located in the eastern part of the main island and if you are straight from the Ngurah Rai International Airport, it would take you around 3 hours of drive, 2 hours from Ubud and 2 and a half hours from Canggu or Seminyak. You can reach this temple with a taxi, rent your own car or scooter or take a group tour.
