Exploring Tirtagangga with Barrie in Karangasem Bali

Tenganan was a cultural highlight for sure although Barrie was dissapointed about the overt tourist related activities.

Great to see traditional village cobble stone design and long-houses.

Our destination for the evening was Seraya Shores, a lovely guest house on the coast close to the town of Ujung on the coast. Dropping our stuff off and grabbing a bite Barrie, Candika and I decided to drive to Tirtagangga and see the water palace there. There is a newly renovated water-palace in Ujung but Tirtagannga really has more atmosphere and style.

The drive to Seraya from Tenganan took about 30 minutes as we cruised through Amlapura, the largest town in Karangasem (and was once called Karangasem).

Driving to Tirtagangga took about 30 minutes too. The site is located right on the main road with parking for plenty of vehicles.

When we arrived plenty of locals were already enjoying swimming in the royal pools. Barrie told me that the 3 main pools were for the king, his wives and everyone else. It cost me 6,000rp to swim and enjoyed doing several laps in the king’s pool. For anyone visiting you’ve got to take a dip in this place, so relaxing and the water is nice and cold. I could imagine if I lived within half hour of Tirtagangga taking a swim would be part of my daily routine.

In the pool with me was a Balinese father teaching his kids to swim, or rather terrorising them into learning by dunkin them in the deep end.

The lower pool had more families splashing around and I believe Barrie got a few photos of the ladies.

Tirtagangga in a nutshell was built in 1946 by the last raja of Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah, who actually worked on the project everyday with his workers.

The name Tirtagangga suggests that the water that flows through here is from the holy Ganges in India. Plenty of fountains and stepping stones create an interesting ‘obyek wisata’ (tourist object).

Tirtagangga has a restaurant on site overlooking the king’s pool. Prices are moderate (warung style with western dishes). There are also rooms on the site close to the entrance of the pools. Entry is 3,100rp and Tirtagangga is open daily 7am-6pm. My guide book says they charge extra for cameras and video cameras but I have found this not to be the case.

There are restaurants aand warungs close by including the Kusumajaya and Prima Bamboo which serve Indonesian and Chinese food. Others close by include the Good Karma located above the parking area and the Genta Bali Warung across the street.

We drove out of the parking area and up round the first bend to the Ryoshi tea house that sits perched on the cliff top. The view is amazing and its one of those places where you think ‘these guys grabbed the best spot around’. Ryoshi’s sell noddles and other light Japanese items (miso, seaweed etc.). We all ordered teh hijau (green tea), Barrie and Candika es teh (iced tea ) and myself teh panas (hot tea).

The toilet here really has to be seen to be believed. A bamboo shack on the cliff edge with the front wall coming only 2 feet off the ground…the rest is just fresh air, just you the birds and the people down below in the valley.

Driving down the hill from Tirtagangga to Ujung was lovely as the shadows began to lengthen at the end of a steamy tropical day. We cruised through areas surrounded by rice paddies and one thinks of how things must of been in the time of Walter Spies and those other great artists, when even areas like Ubud and Kuta were quiet and daily life was a picture waiting to be painted.

Marj was holding down the fort for us at Seraya shores and we arrived for a cold drink to enjoy the sunset.

(Photos by Barrie & Nick)

Tags: Balinese Culture