Taman Sari is one of Bali‘s most unique waterfalls. It’s a stunning two-tiered waterfall, with the first portion being a single curtain that drops into a small natural pool, from which several cascades fall into a much larger natural pool. Of all the falls in Bali, Taman Sari is one of the best ones for enjoying a swim due to the size and depth of its bottom natural pool. Although it is gaining popularity, Taman Sari is not one of the most crowded Bali waterfalls since it only opened to the public in late 2019. At just over half an hour’s drive from Ubud, it’s one of several beautiful waterfalls you can visit in the area. To help you plan your visit and get the most out of your time here, we put together this visiting guide for Bali’s beautiful Taman Sari Waterfall and natural pool. Like many waterfalls in the area, it can be reached by following a short downhill path through the jungle toward the base of the falls.
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You might also be interested in these pages (coming soon):
Best Things to See and Do in Bali
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The Perfect Three-Week Bali Itinerary
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Bali
Taman Sari Waterfall Location & Map
Taman Sari is located in Bali’s Gianyar regency (southeastern region of central Bali), relatively close to Ubud (link to Google Maps).
How to get to Taman Sari Waterfall
The Taman Sari Waterfall car park is located here (Link to Google Maps), a short walk from the waterfalls.
Distance from Ubud: 12 km // Average Drive Time: 30 – 40 minutes
Distance from Kuta: 40 km // Average Drive Time: 1h15 – 1h30
Distance from Canggu: 45 km // Average Drive Time: 1h15 – 1h30
Distance from Sanur: 25 km // Average Drive Time: 1h – 1h15
In our opinion, the three best transport options to reach the Taman Sari Waterfall are: renting a scooter (moped), joining a group tour that hits several nearby attractions within a day or a half-day, or hiring a car and driver (which really isn’t as expensive as it sounds).
You can also use Bali ride-hailing apps such as Gojek or Grab, and make use of local taxis, but these options will typically cost more, especially if you plan on visiting several sites and attractions on the same day. Also, Gojek or Grab are not authorized to pick up people in certain locations where local taxi unions limit their services, including Canggu, Sanur, and Ubud. For more information on getting around the island and the different available options, check out our How to Best Get Around Bali guide.
Regardless of your chosen transportation method, you are likely to enjoy the ride there. The road leading to the waterfall is very scenic. You will pass small villages and beautiful rice fields.
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Getting to Taman Sari Waterfall by Scooter: Once you get to Bali, you’ll quickly realize that scooter rental operators are everywhere. Although most street-side vendors will regularly be the cheapest option, they come short in several other aspects compared with more reliable and established vendors. For instance, most won’t offer roadside assistance or insurance that covers theft, nor do they regularly sanitize the helmets or have their scooters undergo regular maintenance. For this reason, we highly recommend using Bikago for your scooter rentals. Renting from them might be slightly more expensive (but still can be rented for as low as 12-15 US$/€ per day) but you get great peace of mind as among many other perks, all scooters undergo extensive quality checks.
What you get with your Bikago rental:
-Helmets
-Full tank of petrol and unlimited mileage
-Free Delivery and Collection at your Hotel
-24/7 Roadside Assistance and First Aid Medical Kit
-Charging Mobile Phone Holder
By Car and Driver hire: Hiring a car and driver to explore Bali can be a practical and cost-efficient way to experience a full day of sightseeing. Although this option is more expensive than renting a scooter (typically 40-60 US$/€ per day), you don’t have to worry about navigating the Bali roads and traffic, Also, most cars are modern and air-conditioned, which is welcome in Bali’s humid heat, and the local drivers always know the best routes to take and can optimize your ideal itinerary. Here are some of the best options to choose from:
By Group Tour: Group tours can be a great option to lower costs and reduce the hassle of having to plan an efficient itinerary. Their main downside is they might not exactly be tailored to your specific interests and preferences. But if you are mostly interested in hitting the main sights and attractions, there is this great tour option departing from nearby Ubud that visits Taman Sari waterfall:
Taman Sari Waterfall – Ticket Price and Operating Hours
Waterfall Entrance Fee
The entrance fee for Taman Sari Waterfall is 25,000 IDR per person (2025), which roughly amounts to 1.50 US$/€.
As of 2025, unlike other nearby waterfalls, parking is free at Taman Sari.
Having the exact change or small bills to pay for all costs is preferable as the majority of waterfall sites don’t accept credit cards and they may not have enough change for large bills. To our knowledge, there are no nearby ATMs.
Waterfall Opening Hours
The Taman Sari Waterfall is typically open daily from 8 am to 5:30 pm – though it may close for the day during important Hindu holidays, such as Nyepi, the “Day of Silence”.
Waterfall Facilities
Near the bottom natural pool, you’ll find changing rooms and toilets, in addition to lockers that you can rent for 10,000 IDR to store your belongings.
There is also typically a lifeguard on duty during opening hours.
Near the waterfall parking, there are several small stalls to buy drinks and snacks, and there’s always a small warung you will cross along the walking path to the falls.
The Trail to Taman Sari Waterfall
It takes less than 5 minutes to reach the waterfalls from the car park along a well-manicured and maintained walking path (350m). After crossing the street from the car park and following the obvious signs directing you to the falls, you’ll follow a path that descends gradually over several staircases toward Taman Sari.
As you near the falls, the path splits: one path continues toward the falls, whereas the other climbs a few steps towards an alternate viewpoint of the falls and photography spot with a typical Balinese nest.
Just before you reach the falls, the path splits again, with one path taking to the upper falls and the other descending to the larger natural pool, which is also where you’ll find the lockers and changing room.
The View – Bali’s Stunning Taman Sari Waterfall
It won’t take long for you to be amazed by the beauty of Taman Sari with its stunning two-tiered waterfall.
At the top, you’ll find a sleek single curtain that drops into a small but picturesque natural pool, from which several smaller streams cascade into a larger natural pool.
From the right end of the large natural swimming pool, you’ll find a staircase that you can climb to get a different vantage point of the falls.
Swimming at Taman Sari
The bottom natural pool is one of the best waterfall swimming spots in Bali. Though the water isn’t very deep, it’s deep enough to enjoy a light swim or a float with an average depth of about 3 to 4 feet (you can also rent floating tubes here). Try to avoid getting too close to the cascades, as there are some larger rocks there that are about shin-heigh and that will leave a bruise if you bump into them hard.
The water is often clear with deep green hues, made even more beautiful by the idyllic jungle surroundings (though the water tends to get cloudier as the day progresses with more people swimming in it).
The rocks at the top waterfall can be slippery – we recommend getting your hands on a pair of water shoes to protect your feet and reduce your chance of slipping. The shoes will also be handy if you bump into some of those larger rocks that lie under the cascades of the bottom natural pool. And if you plan on visiting other waterfalls in Bali, the shoes will probably come in handy for those that involve walking in streams (such as Kanto Lampo, Tukad Cepung and Yeh Bulan).
How Long Do You Need at Taman Sari
If you just want to enjoy the view and take a few pictures, you probably won’t need more than 30 minutes to visit the Taman Sari waterfall (about a 5-minute walk each way + 20 minutes at the falls). But you can definitely stay longer by enjoying some time in the natural pool.
Best Time to Visit Taman Sari Waterfall
Best Time of the Year
Although we visited during the dry season, there’s no bad time of year the visit the falls. There’s a higher risk of rain during the wet season (November-April), but that shouldn’t discourage you as the falls might be even more powerful and striking. However, the water level may be higher and the water might be more cloudy and brownish after recent rain.
Best Time of Day
Although Taman Sari Waterfalls doesn’t have as many crowds as other nearby waterfalls, we still recommend arriving as early as possible. This will allow for better photo opportunities (few people in the pools) and the water is likely to be clearer before many people have gone for a swim in the natural pools.
Other Nearby Waterfalls
Although there are many nearby waterfalls (Bali is full of them!), there are three in particular that we consider worthy of a visit, all of which are at most 20 minutes from Taman Sari.
Tibumana waterfall
(coming soon)
Kanto Lampo waterfall
(coming soon)
Suwat waterfall
(coming soon)
Where to Stay Near Taman Sari Waterfall
In our opinion, the best place to stay in the area is in Ubud, whose location makes it a great base from which to explore several nearby waterfalls and temples. All of the following are some of the best mid-range hotel accommodations located within walking distance from the city center:
Komaneka at Rasa Sayang Ubud Hotel
Other Sights and Attractions near Taman Sari Waterfall
Taman Sari and the other waterfalls are located in a small area of Bali with few major attractions in their immediate vicinity. But if you don’t mind driving just over 30 minutes north, you’ll reach an area that is home to not just one but rather 4 fantastic temples: Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu, Pura Tirta Empul, Pura Mengening, and Gunung Kawi Tampaksiring
Another 15 minutes west of the temples is where you’ll find the stunning Tagallalang Rice Terraces. For a more complete list of attractions that you can visit from Ubud, check out our guide on the Best Day Trips from Ubud.
Planning a Trip to Bali?
You might be interested in these pages: (coming soon)
Best Things to See and Do in Bali
Best Things to See and Do in the Gili Islands
The Perfect Three-Week Bali Itinerary
Everything You Need to Know About Visiting Bali
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Bali: The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide
Lonely Planet Bali, Lombok & Nusa Tenggara
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
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e-Sim cards
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Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our guide on Bali’s Taman Sari Waterfall and that it will prove useful for planning your trip.
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