Uluwatu Temple

Uluwatu Temple tickets and tours: which one to book

Uluwatu has two separate tickets, and it is worth knowing both. The entry ticket, bought at the gate, admits you to the temple grounds and the cliff-top paths and includes the loan of a sarong and sash. The Kecak dance, performed every evening in an open-air amphitheatre on the cliff, is a separate ticket sold at its own booth near the entrance or online. It sells out in the dry season, so buy it early in the afternoon or in advance. Most tours on offer are built around that evening show. Afternoon and sunset tours from Seminyak, Kuta, Canggu, Ubud or Nusa Dua include hotel pick-up, the temple visit before sunset, the Kecak ticket and often a seafood dinner on the beach at Jimbaran afterwards.

Fuller days add stops such as the Garuda Wisnu Kencana park, the beaches of Padang Padang and Melasti, Tanah Lot or a water-sports session in Tanjung Benoa. Private drivers offer the same route with more flexibility, and some cruise ships run shore excursions from Benoa harbour. A private car or a sunset tour with the Kecak ticket included is the easiest choice, since the traffic on the Bukit peninsula is heavy around sunset and parking fills up. If you are staying nearby, ride a scooter or taxi there and buy the tickets yourself. Check that a tour includes both the entry fee and the dance.

Visiting Uluwatu Temple: what to see and how to behave

Pura Luhur Uluwatu stands on the very edge of a limestone cliff about 70 m above the Indian Ocean at the southwestern tip of the Bukit peninsula. It is one of Bali's sea temples and one of the island's great directional temples, which guard it from evil spirits. A shrine is thought to have stood here early on; the complex was enlarged in the eleventh century by the Javanese priest Empu Kuturan, and the sixteenth-century sage Dang Hyang Nirartha, who introduced the padmasana throne shrines to Bali, is said to have reached his final liberation on this spot, which gave the temple the epithet Luhur, the height. The temple itself is small, and the inner courtyard with the main shrine is open only to Hindus coming to pray.

Visitors see it through the carved stone gateways, shaped like split gates and winged portals, that frame the sea behind. The real experience is the walk along the cliff paths to the north and south of the temple, with views back to the tiered roofs perched on the headland and down to the surf breaking at the foot of the cliff. The forest around the temple is home to long-tailed macaques, notorious for snatching sunglasses, hats, phones and sandals and handing them back only for food. Take off anything loose, keep your bag closed and do not feed them. The Kecak, a chanting dance by a circle of men telling an episode of the Ramayana, is staged with the sunset as the backdrop. The temple is about 45 minutes by road from Kuta, longer at peak hours.

Uluwatu Temple: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The temple is open daily from morning until about 7 pm, and the Kecak begins around sunset, at about 6 pm, with a second show in the busiest months. Late afternoon is the obvious time. Arrive by 4.30 pm to walk the cliff paths in softer light, then take your seat in the amphitheatre at least half an hour before the show, as the best seats facing the sea go first. For a quiet visit without the crowds, come in the morning and skip the dance.

The dry season from April to October gives the most reliable sunsets; in the rainy months, cloud or showers can cancel the view, though the show usually goes on. The temple festival, held every 210 days on the Balinese calendar, fills the temple with worshippers in white and brings offerings and processions; visitors may watch respectfully, but access can be limited. Allow two to three hours including the dance. Combine Uluwatu with an afternoon on one of the Bukit beaches and dinner at Jimbaran.