Tirta Gangga is a popular side trip from the nearby coastal resort towns of Amed and Candidasa. It is in fact right beside the main road between these two locations. The Water Palace is the main draw card where the gardens, the huge koi fish and the spring fed swimming pools are worth the stop. There are also about a dozen eateries located around the entry to the Water Palace. The quality is superb and the prices are cheaper than in the Tourist Traps. The hiking around Tirta Gangga is excellent. You can just take a short stroll on your own along any well beaten track into the rice paddies or
, for the more serious hikers, a full-on climb of nearby Gunung Agung. Organised tours are widely offered.
Public buses run from nearby Karangasem town and Perama buses can be chartered from Candidasa.
If you are driving yourself, Tirta Gangga is on the main east coast road just north of the town of Karangasem (Amlapura) and is fairly well signposted.
The primary draw in this area for visitors is the Tirta Gangga water palace, a lovely maze of pools and fountains surround by a lush garden and stone carvings and statues. The one hectare complex was built from 1948 onwards by the late heir to the Kingdom of Karangsem but was destroyed almost entirely by the eruption of nearby Mount Agung in 1963. It has been lovingly re-built and restored and has an air of authentic royal magnificence. The centrepiece of the palace is an eleven tiered fountain, and there are many beautiful carvings and statues adorning the gardens. This is a great spot to unwind and it has a real atmosphere of old Bali. You can bathe in the pools for a small charge which is additional to the Rp 20,000 (foreigners) entrance fee.
The area around Tirta Gangga holds some stunning rice paddy terraces. Those postcard pictures of Bali rice terraces which you have all seen are usually from photographs taken here
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