Banyumala waterfall sits in the hills above Lake Buyan, at the village of Wanagiri, a long way from the waterfall circuit east of Ubud and in a different climate altogether. Two main falls and a curtain of thinner streams come down a wall thick with ferns and moss into a pool clear enough to see your feet in. It is the waterfall in the north where the swim, not the photo, is the reason to go.
It is also close to the two sights most people drive up here for, Handara Gate and the lake temple of Ulun Danu Beratan. That is what turns a two hour drive into a good day rather than a long one.
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The north loop, with someone else driving
Free cancellationLake Bratan, Handara Gate and a swim at Banyumala
- ✓Hotel pickup in the south or Ubud, which is two hours each way you do not have to ride
- ✓Around an hour and a half at Banyumala, enough to swim as well as look
- ✓Handara Gate and Ulun Danu Beratan on the same road, in one day
- ✓Rated 4.8 by more than 700 travellers
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What Banyumala Twin Waterfalls actually is
The name means what it says. Two main falls come down side by side, around 36 metres, off the lip of a rock wall that is almost completely furred over with ferns, moss and creeper. Between and beside them, a dozen thin threads of water seep straight out of the green, so that in the wet months the whole face seems to be leaking. The effect is less a waterfall than a wall of water, and it is the reason Banyumala photographs like nothing near Ubud.
Photo Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0
At the bottom of the steps the stream splits around rocks, with two small bridges crossing it below the falls. The second, smaller fall sits to the right as you arrive, and its pool is the quieter one. The whole site is deep in highland forest at more than a thousand metres, which is why it holds its water in the dry season when the falls around Ubud thin out, and why the air at the bottom feels damp and cool at any hour.
It is not big in the way Sekumpul and the major falls are big. It does not try to be. What it has is the combination the island rarely puts together: a short walk, real water to swim in and a setting that has not been built over with platforms and swings.
How long is the trek to Banyumala Waterfall?
Ten to fifteen minutes down from the ticket booth, on a path of about a kilometre. It is a staircase, not a hike, and most people with ordinary fitness manage it without a second thought. What makes it harder than the short walks east of Ubud is the surface: concrete steps give way to earth steps, some of them high, with bamboo or wooden handrails in places and short stretches of mud and gravel between.
Photo Chainwit., CC BY-SA 4.0
Add a few minutes at the top. Cars cannot drive down to the ticket booth: they stop at one of two car parks partway down the access lane, about five minutes' walk above it. Scooters can usually ride to the booth. So from the car, budget twenty minutes to the water and a bit more to get back.
How many steps to Banyumala Waterfall?
Nobody has published a reliable count, including the guides that rank above this one, and we are not going to make one up. The honest measure is time and gradient: ten to fifteen minutes down, a steady staircase with a few steep sections, nothing that needs your hands. If you have managed the steps at Tegenungan, you will manage these.
The climb back up, and the scooter that saves it
Coming back up takes longer than going down, typically fifteen to twenty minutes with stops, and after a swim in cold water your legs notice it. If knees are the issue, there is a way out: local riders wait near the ticket booth and will take you up to the car park by scooter for around IDR 25,000 (US$1.40 · C$2). It does not save the steps to the booth, but it does save the lane, which is the dull part.
Swimming at Banyumala: which pool, how deep, how cold
Yes, you can swim, and it is the reason most people make the drive. The pool is mostly waist deep and never much more than chest deep, which makes it one of the more usable waterfall pools on the island. Three things to know before you get in.
- It is cold. Properly cold, colder than anything around Ubud, because the water comes off forest above Lake Buyan. Most people last a few minutes at a time. Children notice it first.
- Use the right-hand pool. The smaller fall to the right of the steps has the calmer water. The main drop on the left hits hard, and standing directly under it is more painful than it looks.
- You cannot see the bottom. Under the foam it is rock, uneven and slippery. Water shoes make the difference between a swim and a stubbed toe.
There are no changing rooms at the bottom, only rocks. Toilets are at the car park and near the ticket booth. Put your swimwear on before you go down and bring a towel and a dry layer. Do not get in when the water is brown after heavy rain: the same rule as at every waterfall on Bali, and the north gets more rain than most.
Banyumala Waterfall entrance fee and opening hours in 2026
IDR 50,000 per adult, cash only. Children under ten go free. That figure is confirmed by several visits in 2025 and 2026. The IDR 20,000 and 30,000 you will still find on older blogs date from 2022 and 2023. Dollar figures below use the rate of 8 October 2026.
| What you pay for | Detail | Order of magnitude |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance ticket | Per adult, cash only, paid at the booth above the steps. Children under ten go free, and an ID is sometimes asked for. | IDR 50,000US$2.80 · C$4 |
| Parking | Collected at the car parks partway down the access lane. Scooters pay the lower end. | IDR 2,000 to 5,000under US$0.30 |
| Toilets | By the car park and near the ticket booth. There is nothing at the bottom. | IDR 2,000US$0.10 |
| Scooter ride back up | Optional. Local riders run people from the ticket booth up to the car park for those who would rather not walk it. | IDR 25,000US$1.40 · C$2 |
The site is open from 08:00 to 18:00, with last entry around 17:00. A few sources give 07:00 as the opening time, but do not plan around it. There is no ATM anywhere near the waterfall, and the booth does not take cards, so withdraw in Munduk, Bedugul or before you leave the south. Small notes help.
Some older reports mention a bottle of water or a walking stick included with the ticket. That stopped in late 2024, so do not count on it. Camping with your own tent near the bridge was allowed in 2024, so ask at the booth before you bring one up.
Food on site is limited to two places by the scooter parking: Palm Resto for basic Indonesian and Western plates, and Warung Manggista for drinks and snacks. Neither is a reason to stop. Lunch with a view over Lake Buyan, back up on the Wanagiri ridge, is a better use of the hour.
How to get to Banyumala Waterfall
Banyumala is in Wanagiri, on the ridge road above Lake Buyan between Bedugul and Munduk. From the main road a signed lane drops about three kilometres to the car parks. The distance is never the problem from the north. From the south, it is the whole day.
| Coming from | Distance | Drive | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munduk | 12.5 km | About 30 min | The obvious base. Banyumala becomes a morning, not a day. |
| Bedugul and Lake Bratan | About 13 km | About 30 min | Over the ridge past Handara Gate and Lake Buyan. |
| Ubud | 56 km | 1 h 30 to 2 h | Doable as a day trip if you leave by 07:00. |
| Canggu | 63 km | About 2 h | A full day. Worth it only with the loop attached. |
| Seminyak | 67 km | About 2 h | Same as Canggu, with worse traffic on the way home. |
| Sanur or Kuta | 67 to 70 km | About 2 h 30 | Long. Combine with the lakes or sleep up there. |
| Nusa Dua or Uluwatu | 85 to 93 km | 3 to 3 h 30 | Seven hours in a car for a swim. Sleep in Munduk instead. |
The last three kilometres
The access lane is narrow, steep and made of concrete slabs that have cracked and broken in places. On a scooter it takes a careful half hour. In a car it is quicker but tight when you meet someone coming up. Cars stop at the car parks and only scooters continue down to the booth. None of this is dangerous in the dry. In the rain, on a scooter, it is not where you want to learn.
Driver, scooter or tour
A car with a driver is the sensible choice from Ubud or the south: two hours each way through the mountain passes is tiring on a bike and the driver waits while you swim. A scooter works if you are based in Munduk or Bedugul and already ride confidently. A tour makes sense if you want the loop with Handara Gate and the lake temple without negotiating it yourself. Most north Bali day trips include Banyumala for exactly that reason.
Best time to visit Banyumala: hour and season
Through the day
Arrive at 08:00 and you will likely have the pool to yourself until about 10:00. It fills within a couple of hours of opening and peaks between noon and 14:00, when the north Bali tours arrive. The afternoon is quieter again, but the north clouds over early and the light leaves the bowl, so the morning is better on every count.
Through the year
The dry season runs roughly April to October and the wet season November to March, but the hills above the lakes get rain in every month, often in the afternoon, and mist in the mornings. That matters less than you would think: the falls are fuller and greener in the wet months, and the swim is cold year-round. What rain changes is the path, which gets slippery, and the water, which can turn brown for a day after a heavy storm. If you are travelling between November and March, read how the rainy season really plays out and keep a spare morning.
Banyumala, Handara Gate and Ulun Danu Beratan in one day
The three sit on one road over the ridge, within about 13 km of each other. Handara Gate is about 10 km from Banyumala, Ulun Danu Beratan about 13 km, and the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan are in the view between them. The order depends on where you sleep, because each one is best early and you cannot be early at all three.
If you sleep in Munduk or Bedugul
Start at Handara Gate around 07:00, before the queue builds after 9. Be at Banyumala for 08:00 and have the pool to yourself. Finish at Ulun Danu Beratan late morning, with lunch around the lake. Back by mid-afternoon, before the rain.
If you come up from Ubud or the south
Leave by 07:00 and go straight to Banyumala, arriving around 09:00, before the midday crowd. Swim, climb back, and take Handara Gate on the way down. At midday the wait for the photo can run from one to three hours, so take a number and decide. Finish at Ulun Danu Beratan in the afternoon, open until 19:00, and drive home in the dark.
Photo Stefan Fussan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Handara Gate: a photo, a ticket and a queue
The gate is the entrance to a golf resort, a tall split Balinese portal with the forested ridge behind it. It is a photo stop and nothing more. You pay IDR 50,000 (US$2.80 · C$4), take a numbered ticket and get about two minutes at the gate when your turn comes. Open 06:00 to 19:00. Before 9 there is barely a queue. After that, it can run one to three hours at peak. It is worth the stop because it is on the way, not worth a detour for.
Ulun Danu Beratan: the temple on the lake
The temple that sits on the water of Lake Bratan is the main reason most people come to the highlands. Around IDR 100,000 (US$5.60 · C$8) per adult, though sources disagree, so check at the gate. Open 07:00 to 19:00. How good it looks depends on the lake level and the hour, which our guide to Ulun Danu Beratan covers in detail.
What the loop costs
The three tickets come to roughly IDR 200,000 per person, about US$11 · C$16, with parking adding a few thousand at each stop. The driver for the day is the real cost, several times the tickets. Keep enough cash for all three, because only the lake temple reliably takes cards.
Other waterfalls near Banyumala
The north has more waterfalls than the rest of the island together, and several are within half an hour of Banyumala. Distances below are by road from Banyumala.
- Wanagiri twin waterfall (7 km). The other twin falls in the same village, often confused with Banyumala. Check your map pin.
- Munduk waterfall (8.5 km). A tall single drop below the coffee village, linked by forest walks to Melanting. A good second waterfall if you sleep in Munduk.
- Gitgit (15 km). A tall column above Singaraja on a paved path, the easiest serious waterfall in the north.
- Leke Leke (26.5 km). A thin fall at the end of a short path in Tabanan, on the southern side of the lakes.
- Aling-Aling (28 km). Cliff jumps and natural water slides, done with a local guide.
- Sekumpul. The big one, further east, and a day of its own. Our guide to Bali's waterfalls explains why it is the most admired and the most demanding.
What to bring to Banyumala Waterfall
- Cash in small notes for the ticket, the parking, the toilets and the scooter back up.
- Water shoes or sandals with grip. For the earth steps and for the rocks in the pool.
- A towel and a warm layer. The water is cold and the air at the bottom is damp, even at midday.
- Swimwear on under your clothes. There is nowhere to change at the bottom.
- A dry bag for the phone, because spray reaches further than you think.
- A rain jacket from November to March, and on most afternoons the rest of the year.
Is Banyumala Waterfall worth visiting?
Go if
- You are sleeping in Munduk, Bedugul or the north. It is the best morning swim in the highlands.
- You are already driving up for Ulun Danu Beratan. Thirty minutes more turns a temple visit into a proper day.
- You want a waterfall you can swim in as well as photograph. Few on Bali do both this well.
Skip it if
- You are in Uluwatu or Nusa Dua with one free day. Seven hours in a car for an hour in the water does not add up. Tibumana, east of Ubud, gives you a swimmable pool for half the drive.
- It has rained hard for two days. The path is slick and the pool is brown.
- Steps are a real problem for you. The scooter only covers the lane, not the staircase.
