Tirta Gangga

Tirta Gangga is a small village built on an altitude of about 500 meters, seven km northwest of Amlapura. This place is known for the "water palace" and beautiful surroundings, in many people's opinion this is among the most beautiful areas on Bali, and that speaks for itself. The name Tirta Gangga means "water from the Ganges". Lately Tirta Gangga has become increasingly popular as a base for exploration of East Bali, many also prefer to go hiking or biking in the pretty surroundings, or even rent a guide here to take them to the top of Gunung Agung or other nearby mountains. The walk to Gunung Agung's top takes about 4 hours, including one hour of car transport to the starting point.

The village is maybe most famous for the water palace built by the last king of Karangasem (see Amlapura), Raja Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut. This was one of the king's favorite places to go for relaxation, a similar palace can be found in Ujung five km south of Amlapura. The palace in Tirta Gangga was built in 1947 and takes it water from a holy spring. The complex is made of several pools, one is open for the local population and very popular among the children, another one is open for tourists.

The village has no large number of accommodation and restaurants, but outside the high season there should be room for everybody who find their way here. The prices are reasonable, there are no five-star hotels here.

If you continue further north from Tirta Gangga you will climb even higher in altitude and have a beautiful view over fertile rice fields with the blue ocean in the background and dense forest behind you. The vegetation becomes more scarce after Culik, still many decide to continue to Tulamben on the northeast coast, mainly to dive on the wreck of the American freighter Liberty which was torpedoed by the Japanese outside Lombok in 1942. Another alternative from Tirta Gangga can be a walk to the easternmost mountain on Bali, Gunung Lempuyang (1.058 meters). An important temple is located at the foot of the mountain, Pura Lempuyang. This is a state temple, "sad-kahyangan", with the same status as temples like Uluwatu and Besakih.