Guide · The lake temple

Ulun Danu Bratan, the temple at the lake's edge

Ulun Danu Bratan rises from the water of Lake Beratan in the cool Bedugul highlands: what the shrines stand for, when the mist lies on the lake, and how to fit the visit into a day.

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Editorial team, balitempletour.comUpdated October 24, 2026Reading time 6 min33 sources

On this topic: the tour North Bali: Dolphin, Ulun Danu Temple, & Banyumala Waterfall 4.9 (423 reviews) 7 to 10 hours from$32per person Check availabilityFree cancellation until 24 hrs ahead of the start

In a few lines

01Where: Candikuning, Tabanan, about 1.5 to 2 hours from Denpasar or Kuta.¹ ²
02What: A temple to Dewi Danu, guardian of the water source.³
03The look: Its meru shrines seem to float when the lake is high.⁴
04Entry: Rp 75,000 for foreign adults, Rp 50,000 for children.⁵
05Best hour: Early morning, for mist on the lake.⁶

A temple at the source of the water

On the shore of Lake Beratan, Ulun Danu Bratan occupies a corner of Candikuning village, in the Baturiti district of Tabanan, high in the Bedugul hills.¹ Its official spelling is Beratan; Bratan is how most maps and searches write it. The provincial tourism office translates the name as the source temple of Lake Beratan.⁷

The name says what it is for. The Ministry of Tourism describes the temple as the guardian of the water source and the centre of worship of Dewi Danu, the goddess of the lake, for the fertility of Bali's land.³ Downstream, the lake water serves the whole outflow region, and many smaller water temples belong to the individual irrigation associations.⁸

That makes the visit more than a pretty view. The water you see lapping at the shrines is the water that will run, weeks later, through the rice terraces of the plains. Walk to the shore and look out over the lake before you look at the temple; the order of things is the point here. The forested hills around the water remind you that this is a working landscape as much as a sacred one, and the temple sits exactly where the two meet.

A North Bali day

Dolphins, waterfall, then the lake temple

Before dawn

Pickup

2 hours by car to the north coast.
Sunrise

Lovina

3 hours for dolphin watching off the beach.
Late morning

Banyumala

1.5 hours at the waterfalls after a short drive.
Afternoon

Ulun Danu Bratan

1 hour at the lake temple on the way home.
Evening

Back south

2 hours by car back down to your hotel.

Why it is called the floating temple of Bali

The Ministry explains that the meru shrines appear to float on the surface of the water when the lake is high.⁴ That is why many travellers know the place as the floating temple of Bali. On a calm morning the reflection doubles the tiered roofs, and the hills behind turn the scene into the picture on so many postcards of the island.

When the water is lower, the shrines stand on small islands joined to the shore, and the effect is gentler but still striking. The Ministry's temple guide recommends early morning for mist on the lake, which softens everything and keeps the crowds small.⁶ By late morning the light is flatter and the tour buses have arrived.

The highlands are cooler than the coast. The operator of one tour that stops here warns of mist or rain in the Bedugul area, and the visibility at the lake can change within minutes. Bring a light layer even in the dry season, and be patient if the mountains behind the temple are hidden; they often reappear quickly.

Entrance fees

Who pays what at the lake

Entrance fees as the Ministry of Tourism's temple guide lists them; the Indonesian adult fee is given as a range.⁵

What you see

The parts of the lake temple

Part	What it is	Dedicated to
Tallest meru	Eleven-roofed tower	Shiva and Parvati
Lake shrines	Meru that seem to float	Part of the Dewi Danu temple
Main temple	17th-century foundation	Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
Stupa	Buddhist monument	A sign of tolerance

From the Ministry of Tourism, the provincial tourism office and Wikipedia's article on the temple.⁹ ⁴ ³ ⁷ ¹⁰

Days that reach the lake

Hike, dolphins or royal temple

This page's pick

North Bali day

Lovina, Banyumala, the lake

At the temple: 1 hour
Reviews: 423
Price: from $32

See the tour

Bali UNESCO Sites: Shared or Private Guided Full-Day Tour

Two water temples

UNESCO day

Taman Ayun first

Hours: 10 hrs
Reviews: 410
Price: from $34

See the tour

Munduk: Twin Lake Jungle Hike, Ulun Danu Temple, & Waterfall

Other lake, other temple

Twin lakes hike

Lake Tamblingan, not Beratan

Hours: 2 to 8
Reviews: 685
Price: from $21

See the tour

Decision helper

Which highland day suits you?

Choose by how active you want to be

The twin lakes hike

A 2-hour guided hike at Lake Tamblingan, not Beratan, and a waterfall.

The North Bali day

Lovina at sunrise, Banyumala, then the lake temple.

The UNESCO day

Taman Ayun first, then 45 minutes on to the lake.

Arrive early

The Ministry recommends early morning at the lake.⁶

Ask first

Ask local people or the priest before photographing a ritual.¹¹

The water from the lake serves the entire region in the outflow area; downstream there are many smaller water temples that are specific to each irrigation association ( subak ).

WikipediaSource 8

The shrines, the meru and the stupa

The provincial office says the temple was built in the 17th century for the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as for Dewi Danu.⁷ The Ministry dates the founding to 1634, by I Gusti Agung Putu of the Mengwi kingdom, as recorded in the old Babad Mengwi chronicle.¹²

The tallest meru has 11 roofs and is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvati.⁹ In Balinese temples the number of roofs on a meru reflects the status of the deity and is always an odd number.¹³ Count the roofs on the smaller shrines too, and you will read the hierarchy of the gods without a word of explanation.

Near the temple stands a Buddhist stupa, which the Ministry presents as a sign of the long religious tolerance of Bali.¹⁰ It is easy to walk past, so look for it on the way back from the shore. Few places show more simply that the island's faith grew from more than one root. Standing between the Hindu shrines on the water and the Buddhist monument on the shore, you see in a single glance how comfortably the two have shared this lake.

Map

Where the temples stand on Bali

First the whole island with the temples on this site, then the slopes of East Bali around Lempuyang, then the river valley north of Ubud.

Map of Bali with Lempuyang, Tirta Gangga, Besakih, Tirta Empul, Goa Gajah, Ubud, Taman Ayun, Ulun Danu Beratan, Uluwatu and Kuta — The island

Map of East Bali with the Lempuyang gate, the summit temple of Lempuyang Luhur and the Tirta Gangga water palace — East Bali

Map of the valley north of Ubud with Tirta Empul, Gunung Kawi, Goa Gajah and Ubud Palace — Near Ubud

1
Lempuyang gate
The lowest of seven temples on Mount Lempuyang, where the split gate frames Mount Agung on a clear day.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
2
Tirta Gangga
A water palace built in 1948 by the King of Karangasem; a 1-hour stop of the site tour.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
3
Besakih
The mother temple, on the slope of Agung at about 1,000 m, a complex of 23 temples.¹⁶ ¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
4
Tirta Empul
A spring temple founded in 962 AD, with 30 showers fed by the spring.¹⁸ ¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Goa Gajah
A carved cave about 27 km from Denpasar, named in a text of 1365.²⁰ ²¹
In Google Maps ↗
6
Ubud Palace
Meeting point of the site tour's group options in Ubud.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Taman Ayun
The royal water temple of Mengwi, part of the UNESCO subak landscape inscribed in 2012.²² ²³
In Google Maps ↗
8
Ulun Danu Beratan
A lake temple in Candikuning, Tabanan, about 1.5 to 2 hours from Denpasar.¹ ²
In Google Maps ↗
9
Uluwatu
A sea temple on a 70-meter cliff, with the kecak at 6:00 PM.²⁴ ²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
10
Kuta
Central Parking Kuta, the other group meeting point of the site tour.
In Google Maps ↗
11
Lempuyang Luhur
The highest of the seven temples, at about 1,175 m, 2 to 4 hours there and back on foot.²⁶ ²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
12
Gunung Kawi
Ancient shrines cut into a rock cliff above the Pakerisan River.²⁸
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For the highlands

Bring

A warm layer for the hills
A rain jacket
Cash for the ticket

Respect

Temple dress or the sash provided
Permission before ritual photos
Room for processions

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Video

Why Ulun Danu Bratan is called the floating temple

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Tickets, dress and photographs

The Ministry's temple guide lists the entrance at Rp 75,000 for foreign adults and Rp 50,000 for foreign children, with Rp 40,000 to 50,000 for Indonesian adults.⁵ It is one of the higher fees among the major temples, and the grounds include gardens and lake paths as well as the shrines.

Wear temple dress or the sash that the management provides at the entrance.²⁹ The Ministry asks women who are menstruating not to visit the main sacred area.³⁰ Shoulders and knees should be covered, as at every temple on the island.³¹

The temple is one of the most photographed places in Bali, and the Ministry asks visitors to request permission from local people or the temple priest before photographing a ritual.¹¹ If a ceremony is under way, step back from the procession route and keep your lens low; the offerings and the music are the best memory you can take home.

Getting up to Bedugul

Ulun Danu Bratan is about 1.5 to 2 hours by car from Denpasar or Kuta.² The road climbs out of the rice country into forest and market gardens, and the air turns noticeably cooler on the way up. From Ubud the drive is similar, depending on traffic and the route.

Most visitors combine it with something else. The UNESCO day that starts at Taman Ayun reaches the lake temple 45 minutes later, then drives on to the Handara gate. A North Bali day goes the other way, starting with dolphins off Lovina at sunrise, then Banyumala waterfalls, then 1 hour at Ulun Danu Bratan.

The twin lakes hike is quieter, but it does not stop at this temple: its Ulun Danu temple is Ulun Danu Tamblingan, on neighbouring Lake Tamblingan. It drives 2 hours to the Twin Lake View for 30 minutes, then leads a 2-hour guided hike and spends 1.5 hours at Banyumala waterfalls. It has 685 reviews averaging 4.94 and starts from $21.

Not the same as Ulun Danu Batur

Bali has more than one lake temple called Ulun Danu, and they are easy to confuse. The one on this page stands on Lake Beratan in Tabanan.¹ Pura Ulun Danu Batur, on the edge of Lake Batur, is a different temple: UNESCO calls it the Supreme Water Temple and includes it in Bali's World Heritage landscape.³²

Both serve the same idea. UNESCO explains that Bali's water temples are the focus of the subak, a cooperative system of canals and weirs that reaches back to the 9th century.³³ The lakes at the top of the island feed the springs and rivers below, and the lake temples honour the water at the point where it begins.

If you want to see the UNESCO landscape itself, Taman Ayun at Mengwi is its most accessible royal water temple, and many day tours pair it with Ulun Danu Beratan.²² Together they tell the whole story, from the lake at the top to the moat on the plain.

Making the most of the highlands

Plan to arrive early. The mist on the lake, the quiet gardens and the cool air are at their best in the first hours of the morning, and a highland day tour that starts at the temple gets you there before the crowds.⁶

Leave time for the lake shore. Walking a little way along the water, away from the main viewpoint, gives you the temple from new angles and a sense of how large the lake really is. On a clear day the forested hills behind it make the scale of the setting obvious.

Dress for changing weather, keep a sarong in your bag for other temples on the way, and do not expect a hot beach day: the highlands have their own climate. If rain comes in, wait under a pavilion; showers in the hills often pass as quickly as they arrive, leaving the lake glassy and the shrines reflected again. On the drive back down, the market gardens along the road show what the water of these hills helps to grow, long before it reaches the rice fields of the plains.

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