Tegenungan Waterfall (Air Terjun Tegenungan), Kemenuh, Bali

It is one of the closest big waterfalls to Ubud and the easiest to reach, which is why so many Ubud cultural tours stop here, and why the riverbank is shoulder to shoulder by 10 AM. Before the pandemic, Indonesia's national news agency Antara put daily visitors at 700 to 1,000. Go early and it is a different place. The spray hangs in the morning light, the swing operators have not set up yet, and the only sound is the river. The falls are also called Blangsinga Waterfall, after the village on the opposite bank, which runs its own entrance and its own ticket.

• Arrive by 8 AM. Tour buses start pulling in around 10 AM and the pool stays packed until about 3 PM.

• Carry IDR 100,000 in small notes per person. The gate, parking, toilets and lockers are cash only.

• Swim only inside the marked area and never jump from the rocks. The pool is shallow and hides boulders.

• Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. The climb back up takes 15 to 20 minutes and is the hard part.

• Skip it on the morning after heavy rain between November and March. The water runs brown and staff close the pool.

Tegenungan Waterfall at a glance

Tegenungan is worth it if you want a powerful waterfall without a jungle trek, and you can arrive early. It is the easiest of the Ubud waterfalls to reach and the best equipped, with cafés, changing rooms and a staffed swimming area. It is also the busiest.

Tickets and costs at a glance

An adult ticket at the main Kemenuh entrance costs IDR 30,000 (about Rs 157) and a child aged 5 to 9 pays IDR 15,000 (about Rs 79). Children under 5 usually walk in free. Some older guides still print IDR 20,000, the adult fare before the latest rise. Our full Tegenungan Waterfall entrance fee page lists every charge at the gate and explains why websites disagree.

Rupee values at 1 IDR = Rs 0.005244 (mid-market rate, November 2026), rounded to the rupee.

There is no official online ticket. You pay in rupiah at the barrier, so the Klook or GetYourGuide "Tegenungan" listings you see are guided tours that bundle a car and a driver. Professional photoshoots and pre-wedding crews pay a permit of about IDR 300,000.

Opening hours and the best time of day

Tegenungan is open every day from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. The one closure that catches visitors out is Nyepi, the Balinese Day of Silence, when the whole island shuts from 6 AM. In 2027 that is Monday 8 March, through to 6 AM on Tuesday 9 March.

The best time of day is the first hour. Morning light falls on the face of the falls, the air at the base is cool, and you can stand in front of the curtain of water with nobody in your photo. Late afternoon after 4 PM is the second-best window. The crowds thin, though the gorge goes into shade earlier than you expect.

Best time of year: dry vs rainy season

April to October is the best season. The Petanu runs clear, the steps are dry, and the pool is open on most days. July and August bring the most visitors because they overlap with European and Indian school holidays.

From November to March the river carries rain from the hills above Ubud. After a wet night it turns the colour of milky tea and the force at the base is far stronger. Staff close the pool whenever the current rises, sometimes for the whole day. The waterfall itself is at its loudest then, so a rainy-season visit can still be worth it for the view from the stairway, if you accept that you may not get in the water.

The walk down: steps, difficulty and time

The walk is short and paved, but steep. About 170 concrete steps drop from the car park to the riverbank (168 if you count them one by one), and the full path from the top lookout is closer to 200. Handrails run along most of it. Allow 10 minutes going down and 15 to 20 minutes coming back up in the heat, which is the part people underestimate.

Cafés, warungs and souvenir stalls line the first stretch below the entrance, so there are places to stop and rest. The top viewing deck by the car park is step-free and gives a full view of the falls, which is enough for anyone who cannot manage the stairs.

Children. Most children from about five cope well with the stairs. Toddlers need carrying for part of it. Keep small children within arm's reach on the wet rocks at the bottom.

Older travellers and anyone with knee trouble. The descent is fine at your own pace. The climb is the test. Take it in three or four stages and use the café stops. Most visitors in their sixties manage it this way.

Wheelchairs and strollers. The stairway is not accessible. Omma Day Club on the Kemenuh rim runs a lift for its own guests down to its lower terraces, which is a step-free way to get closer, though it comes with a minimum spend.

Can you swim at Tegenungan? Rules and safety

Yes, you can swim at Tegenungan Waterfall, but only in the marked pool at the base, and only when staff on the riverbank say the current is calm. They watch the river and close the pool quickly after rain upstream. The Petanu rises fast, and the people who get hurt here are usually the ones who ignored the whistle.

Older TravelTriangle pages described a jump from the falls as an adventure. It is not. The pool is shallow in places and hides submerged rocks, and a jump from the ledges can cause a serious injury.

Safety rules at the pool

• Swim only inside the marked or roped area. Never swim directly under the falling water.

• Do not jump or dive from the rocks or ledges, at any water level.

• Get out the moment staff blow a whistle or wave you in. Brown water means a rising river.

• Staff watch the river, not each swimmer. Keep children at arm's length yourself.

• Wear water shoes or sandals with grip. The rocks are slippery with moss.

• Keep phones in a dry bag or a locker. The spray soaks everything near the falls.

The water is cool rather than cold, and the current near the falls is strong even on a clear day. Weak swimmers are better off wading at the edge of the pool, where the photos are just as good.

Kemenuh vs Blangsinga: which entrance?

Tegenungan and Blangsinga are the same waterfall seen from two banks of the Petanu. Kemenuh, on the west bank in Sukawati district, is the main entrance with the classic front view and the pool. Blangsinga, on the east bank in Saba village (Blahbatuh district), has its own car park, stairs and ticket. The two villages manage their sides separately, so a ticket from one is not valid on the other.

If this is your only visit, use Kemenuh. When you reach the bottom you will see another staircase climbing the far side of the gorge. That is Blangsinga, and if you walk up it you will be asked to buy a second ticket. By road the two gates are a short drive apart.

Things to do at Tegenungan Waterfall

Most visitors spend their time on the riverbank and in the pool. The rest of the site has grown up around the gorge in the last decade, and almost all of it is run privately and charged separately. This is what is there and what each part costs.

The pool and the riverbank

Wade or swim in the marked pool, stand on the flat rocks in front of the falls, or sit back on the boulders and dry off in the sun. On a clear morning this is where you will spend most of your hour.

The Pancoran spring shrine

A small spring shrine sits near the base, which locals also call the beji. Kemenuh residents still come here for melukat, the Balinese water purification, and to collect drinking water. Visitors may look from outside. To enter, wear a sarong and sash, and do not enter during a ceremony. By Balinese custom, women who are menstruating do not enter temple grounds, and that applies to the shrine, not to the waterfall.

Swings, nests and photo frames

Family-run swings, bird-nest platforms and "Bali" letter frames line the slope on both banks. Each operator charges separately, from about IDR 50,000 for a nest photo to about IDR 200,000 for the big swing, and most start around 9 AM.

Omma Day Club and D'Tukad River Club

Omma Day Club, on the Kemenuh rim, has pools, day beds and a restaurant facing the falls. D'Tukad River Club sits on the Blangsinga side. Both have their own entry rules or minimum spend, and both work well for a long breakfast after an early swim.

Bali Glass Bridge

The Bali Glass Bridge opened on 11 November 2022 across the Petanu gorge a short way downstream, linking Kemenuh and Saba. It is about 190 to 200 m long, glass-floored, and a separate attraction with its own entrances and a ticket of about IDR 250,000 per adult. You cannot walk to it from the pool, and visitors report that the main falls are not visible from the deck.

Food at the top

Food stalls and warungs at the entrance sell coconuts, fried rice and snacks. Bumbu Asli restaurant sits on the rim with a view down into the gorge. For a longer list of where drivers stop for lunch, see our guide to restaurants near Tegenungan Waterfall.

Photography tips

Shoot from the riverbank before 9 AM, when the sun lights the face of the falls and the riverbank is empty. The best wide shot is from the flat rocks a short way back from the pool, which keeps the whole curtain of water in frame. The free decks on the way down give a cleaner view of the gorge than the paid nests do.

• Put a lens cloth in your pocket. The spray fogs a lens within a minute near the base.

• In the rainy season, shoot the brown water from the stairway. It looks powerful, and you stay dry.

• Ask at the ticket counter before flying a drone. Keep it away from swimmers and the shrine, and never fly over a ceremony.

• Take selfies from the decks and the riverbank, not from the wet ledges at the top or the rocks under the falls.

• Tripods and lighting for a paid shoot need the photoshoot permit of about IDR 300,000.

How to reach Tegenungan Waterfall

Tegenungan is 10.2 km south of Ubud Palace by road, about 25 to 35 minutes in daytime traffic. From the beach areas it is roughly an hour: 60 to 80 minutes from Seminyak and 70 to 90 from Canggu. The simplest way to get there is with a private driver or on the first stop of an Ubud day tour. You are dropped at the Kemenuh entrance and the car waits in the car park.

Private driver or tour. A car with driver for 8 to 10 hours costs about IDR 600,000 to 800,000 (Rs 3,146 to Rs 4,195) and lets you add Goa Gajah, the Monkey Forest or the rice terraces the same day. This is how most Indian families do it.

Grab or Gojek. Getting dropped at the entrance by app is easy. Getting a return car is less certain, because local drivers sometimes stop app pickups at the car park. Agree a return with your driver, or walk back up to the main road before you book.

Scooter. From Ubud it is a straight 25-minute ride south through Mas and Kemenuh, and scooter parking costs a few thousand rupiah. Ride only if you hold an international driving permit with a motorcycle class.

What a visit costs for Indian travellers

For two adults, the waterfall itself costs about IDR 285,000 to 405,000 (Rs 1,495 to Rs 2,124) once you add parking, a locker, toilets, water and lunch. With a private driver for the day, budget about IDR 885,000 to 1,205,000 (Rs 4,641 to Rs 6,319), and that car covers three or four more stops.

Vegetarians eat easily here. Every warung makes nasi goreng or mie goreng with vegetables. Ask for it "tanpa daging, tanpa terasi" (no meat, no shrimp paste), and gado-gado (vegetables with peanut sauce) is on most menus. Ubud, 25 minutes away, has dozens of fully vegetarian cafés. If you would rather have the car, hotel and a waterfall day arranged in one quote, our Bali tour packages and Ubud tour packages can include Tegenungan with the gate fees built in.

Half-day and full-day itineraries

Tegenungan works best as the first stop of an Ubud day, because the falls are at their best early and the drive to everything else is short.

Half-day from Ubud: waterfall and Goa Gajah. Leave Ubud at 7 AM and you are at the gate by 7:30. Swim and climb back by 9:15, then drive 15 to 20 minutes to Goa Gajah, the 11th-century Elephant Cave, before its car park fills. You are back in Ubud for lunch at 11:30.

Full day: the south Ubud loop. Tegenungan at opening, Goa Gajah at 9:30, lunch in Ubud, the Ubud Monkey Forest after 2 PM, and the Ubud Palace dance show in the evening. Swap the Monkey Forest for the Tegallalang rice terraces if you prefer views to monkeys.

Full day: waterfalls and water temple. Tegenungan at 7 AM, Kanto Lampo at 9 (10 km away), Tibumana before lunch, then the holy springs of Pura Tirta Empul in the afternoon, about 23 km north of Tegenungan. Bring a dry change of clothes for each stop.

Family day: falls, zoo and markets. Tegenungan early, Bali Zoo (7 km) by 10 AM, lunch at the zoo, then the Sukawati art market (3 km) or the Celuk silver workshops for an hour of shopping.

Where to stay. Ubud is the natural base, 25 to 35 minutes away, with everything from homestays to resorts in and around it such as Viceroy Bali, Alila Ubud, Four Seasons Sayan and Hanging Gardens of Bali. Sanur, 35 to 50 minutes away, suits travellers who want a beach as well.

Nearby waterfalls and places

Tegenungan sits at the south end of Ubud's waterfall belt, so several quieter falls and the main south-Ubud sights are within half an hour.

Tukad Cepung, the canyon fall with light beams, is about an hour north-east and makes a long day with Tegenungan. For more falls across the island, see our list of Bali waterfalls, and for more ideas around Kemenuh, our guide to places to visit near Tegenungan Waterfall. The wider island list is on places to visit in Bali.

Tips before you go

Edited by TravelTriangle. Last updated November 2026. Fee and hours cross-checked against 2026 sources on 4 November 2026. Our Bali desk compared ticket prices across 28 guides and kept only the ones dated 2026, matched the waterfall to its Wikidata entry and map pin, and took every drive time on this page from road distances for 22 starting points, padded for real Bali traffic.