Travel to Bali

Tirtha Gangga

The water palace at Tirtha Gangga, about 4 miles northwest of Amlapura, was built in 1948 by the last raja of Karangasem, A.A. Ngurah Ketut Karangasem, in a series of formal pools fed by a sacred spring. The eruption of Mount Agung in 1963, which buried much of the neighboring village of Subagan, badly damaged Tirtha Gangga. It has been gradually restored, and is open to the public and tourist. A small hamlet of tourist accommodation and eating places has grown up here, but the main attraction is the swimming, which is permitted in several designated pools: a large one open to anyone, and a smaller one closer to the spring, for which an additional admission fee is charged. The water is indescribably refreshing, a swimming pool of holy water.