We are attracted to Pura Tirta Empul by the video scene of people bathing in the sacred temple water. However, we found that this is a tourist trap that you can avoid if you are on tight time budget.
The entrance charge to Pura Tirta Empul is IDR 500,000. For that, you get a Sarong to wear at the front counter, no matter how you have dressed. I believe that the Sarong serves simply as a visible mark that you have paid the entrance fee to the temple. You can explore the temple ground wearing the Sarong. If you are interested to purify yourself with the holy water, you are directed to pay another fee for the locker room (doesn’t seem to be clean), undress yourself, and wear another Sarong (doesn’t seem to be clean to me). During my visit, I do notice may people (mostly young westerners) practice the water purification routine in the holy water pool.
After you have finished the visit, you are directed to the exit (No, you are not allowed to exit from the entrance), which is a long narrow winding alley which you have to battle merchants from both side of alleys in close quarters that try to sell you overpriced tourist souvenir. This leaves a very bad experience for the tourist.
Plus, once you have battled your way through the exit, you will find that all cab hailing Apps (Grab/BlueBird/GoJek) are disabled in the temple area, and you may have to use pricy local taxi service. It might be a good idea to use private car hire for the day during your visit.
