Bali temple etiquette: dress, rules and what to know before you go

Bali has thousands of temples. Every customary village has at least three, every family compound has its own shrine, and there are temples for lakes, springs, rice fields, markets and sea cliffs. Almost all of them are working places of worship rather than museums, and visitors are welcome at many of them as long as they follow a few rules every Balinese child grows up with.

Here is what to wear, how to behave, and what to know about ceremonies, photos, donations, temple layout, the best-known temples and the provincial rules for foreign visitors.

What to wear

The basic outfit is the same for men and women:

• A sarong (kamen) that covers your legs down to the ankles. Shorts, even long ones, are not enough.
• A sash (selendang or senteng) tied around your waist over the sarong. It marks the line between the upper and lower body and is a sign of self-restraint. Without it you are not properly dressed.
• Covered shoulders and upper arms. A plain T-shirt is fine. Tank tops, crop tops and anything see-through are not.

The big temples run as visitor sites lend a sarong and sash at the entrance, usually included in the ticket. At village temples there may be nobody to lend you one, so carry your own. A simple set from any market costs little and is nicer than a damp, shared one.

Flip-flops are fine; take them off if you are asked to, for example when you join a prayer. If Balinese friends invite you to a ceremony, ask what to wear. Men usually add an udeng (head cloth) and a white shirt, women a kebaya (fitted blouse), and hosts are often happy to lend clothes.

How to behave inside

Most temple etiquette comes down to one idea: the gods are invited to sit here, so you stay modest, quiet and lower than what is sacred.

• Never climb or sit on shrines, walls, gates, statues or sacred trees. Anything wrapped in black and white chequered cloth (poleng) is sacred.
• Do not stand higher than a priest, the offerings or people praying. During a ceremony, keep off steps, walls and platforms above them.
• Mind your feet. Sit cross-legged or kneel so the soles of your feet do not point at shrines, priests or worshippers.
• Do not walk in front of someone praying, and never step on or over offerings.
• Keep it quiet. Phone on silent, no public displays of affection, no smoking or alcohol.
• Use your right hand to give or receive, and do not touch anyone's head.
• Ask before flying a drone. Many temples ban them, and flying over a ceremony is never acceptable.

Signs reading "Only for praying" or "Khusus untuk sembahyang" mark areas reserved for worshippers. Treat them as a closed door.

When a ceremony is under way

Every temple celebrates its anniversary (odalan) regularly, so there is a ceremony somewhere on the island almost every day. You can usually watch quietly from the side or the back, in sarong and sash even if you are only on the roadside.

Pecalang, the village guards in black and white chequered sarongs, manage crowds and traffic. Do what they ask. If a procession is crossing the road, stop and wait rather than walking or riding through it. Do not push a camera into the faces of people praying, do not use flash, and never walk into the middle of a rite for a better angle.

If you are invited to join a prayer, copy the people around you. Worshippers sit, hold a flower between their fingertips and raise their hands to the forehead several times. A priest then sprinkles holy water (tirta), pours a little into your cupped right hand to sip, and presses a few grains of rice onto your forehead. Sitting quietly and watching is just as fine.

Large ceremonies can close parts of a temple. During major festivals, temples such as Besakih may limit visitors to the outer area, so check before planning a visit around a big holy day.

The menstruation rule, explained

Many temple entrances carry a sign asking menstruating women not to enter. Here is where the rule comes from.

Balinese Hinduism has a concept of ritual impurity called cuntaka (or sebel). Blood is associated with the forces of the lower world, so a person who is bleeding is considered temporarily out of balance with the purity of a sacred space. The same idea applies to people in mourning after a death in the family, and in many villages to anyone with an open, bleeding wound. Details vary from village to village.

The rule is not about hygiene and is not a judgement of anyone. It applies first of all to Balinese women, who stay away from temples and do not help prepare temple offerings during their period. Nobody will ask you, so it works on trust. The respectful choice is to do what Balinese women do: skip entering temple grounds on those days and plan your visits around them. Beaches and viewpoints outside the temple walls are not affected.

Photos

Photography is generally fine in the outer courtyards and on visitor paths. In areas marked for worshippers, or wherever a sign says no photos, put the camera away.

• Ask before photographing a priest or someone at prayer up close.
• Never pose on a shrine, gate, wall or sacred tree, and skip yoga poses and jump shots on sacred structures.
• Nude, revealing or mocking photos at sacred sites are explicitly prohibited under the provincial rules for tourists, and foreigners have been deported in recent years over exactly this.

At Pura Lempuyang in east Bali, the split gate framing Mount Agung draws long photo queues in high season. The "water reflection" in many of those pictures comes from a mirror held under the phone lens. There is no pool.

Tickets, sarong rental and donations

The best-known temples have ticket counters. Published prices for foreign adults at these temples ranged from roughly IDR 50,000 to IDR 150,000 in 2025 and 2026, with children cheaper and parking extra, usually including the loan of a sarong and sash. Kecak performances at Uluwatu and Tanah Lot are ticketed separately. Treat these figures as a guide as of October 2026 and check at the counter.

Village temples rarely charge entry. There may be a donation box (dana punia) or someone lending sarongs who asks for a contribution. IDR 10,000 to 20,000 is a reasonable amount for a short visit.

• Pay only at the official counter and keep your ticket until you leave.
• The provincial guidelines encourage licensed guides, who carry an identity card. If someone at the gate insists you must hire them or buy a special offering before entering, ask to see their card and check the official price at the counter.
• Foreign tourists pay a one-off provincial levy of IDR 150,000, usually online through Love Bali before arrival. The 2025 guidelines say visitors who have not paid can be refused entry to attractions, so keep the receipt on your phone.

The three courtyards of a pura

A Balinese temple (pura) is a walled compound open to the sky, usually divided into three courtyards that grow more sacred as you move towards the mountain (kaja).

1. Nista mandala (jaba sisi), the outer courtyard. You enter through the candi bentar, the split gate that looks like a tower cut in half. Here you often find the wantilan, an open pavilion for meetings and performances, and the bale kulkul, a tower with a wooden slit drum that calls people together.
2. Madya mandala (jaba tengah), the middle courtyard. Offerings and food are prepared here, the gamelan plays and worshippers gather before going further in.
3. Utama mandala (jeroan), the inner courtyard. You pass through the kori agung, a tall roofed gate. Inside stand the padmasana, an empty stone throne for the supreme God, and the meru, shrines with tiers of black palm-fibre roofs, always in odd numbers up to eleven.

Every customary village has three core temples, the Kahyangan Tiga: the Pura Puseh (temple of origin), the Pura Desa (village temple) and the Pura Dalem, linked to death and usually near the cemetery.

Famous temples and what makes each special

Tanah Lot (Tabanan)

A sea temple on a rock just off the west coast, founded according to tradition by the 16th century priest Dang Hyang Nirartha. At low tide you can walk to the base of the rock, where a freshwater spring rises beside the sea and priests give a blessing with holy water for a small donation. The shrines on top are for worshippers only. Sunset brings big crowds.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Badung)

Set on a cliff about 70 metres above the Indian Ocean at the southwest tip of the Bukit peninsula, Uluwatu is one of the great directional temples that guard the island. Tradition says Dang Hyang Nirartha attained final liberation here. The inner temple is closed to visitors, but the cliff-top paths give you the views. Long-tailed macaques snatch sunglasses, phones and hats, so hold on to your things and do not feed them. Kecak is performed at sunset in the cliffside amphitheatre.

Pura Besakih (Karangasem)

The mother temple of Bali stands at about 1,000 metres on the slopes of Mount Agung: a complex of 23 related temples with Pura Penataran Agung at its heart. Lava from the 1963 eruption stopped just short of it, which many Balinese see as a sign of its sanctity. Visitors come in through an organised entrance area, and access can be restricted during major ceremonies. Allow time: this is the island's spiritual centre, not a quick photo stop.

Tirta Empul (Tampaksiring, Gianyar)

A water temple built around a holy spring in about the year 962, under the Warmadewa dynasty. In the middle courtyard, spring water pours from rows of stone spouts into bathing pools where Balinese purify themselves in a rite called melukat. Visitors may join if they wear the sarong provided for bathing and follow the set order. Some spouts are kept for particular rites, so watch the people ahead of you or ask staff which to skip. Because bathing here is a religious rite, the menstruation rule applies.

Ulun Danu Beratan (Bedugul, Tabanan)

On the shore of Lake Beratan in the cool highlands, this temple honours Dewi Danu, goddess of the lake whose water feeds the farms below. Records mention it in the 16th century, and a king of Mengwi rebuilt it in 1633. When the lake is high, its tiered meru seem to float. It appeared on an older 50,000 rupiah banknote.

The temple rules set out by the provincial government

In March 2025 the Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, issued Circular Letter No. 7 of 2025 on conduct for foreign tourists, updating a 2023 version. For sacred places, it says foreign visitors must:

• respect the sanctity of temples, sacred statues (pratima) and religious symbols;
• respect local customs, especially during ceremonies;
• dress modestly, particularly at sacred places, and behave politely.

It prohibits:

• entering the main and middle courtyards of a sacred place except to pray (the English summary from the provincial tourism office adds that worshippers wear traditional dress, and repeats the menstruation rule);
• climbing sacred trees or monuments;
• behaviour that defiles a sacred place, including inappropriate or nude photos.

It also covers litter, plastics, guides, transport and the tourist levy. Breaches are handled under Indonesian law, and serious cases can end in deportation. As of October 2026 this is the main reference we know of, but a fuller regulation has been discussed, so check for updates before you travel.