Ah, Bali.
We are no strangers to Bali being home of countless waterfalls. Some easy to find, some not-so-easy. Luckily, Tegenungan Waterfall in Ubud is one of the easier ones to find. By easy, I mean it is more well-known and popular with the tourists.
During my short stay in Kuta, myself and my boyfriend of the time organised for a driver to take us on a day-trip, with the number one priority the monkey forrest in Ubud. It’s not hard to find driver’s and deals in Bali, and he set us a good price which happened to also include various stops along the way (highly recommend Luwak coffee, a jewellery place, temples and rice fields).
Not that you would need to know if you have a driver, but the falls are located in Tegenungan Kemenah village (which is just north of Denpasar) and a small tiki-hut at the edge of the carpark requires you to hand over 20,000 Rupiah per person as entry.
It was my first time in Bali, and the muggy humidity paired with the blazing sun was starting to get to me. The felt-like-a-million steps to the falls did not help.
But, like anything, if you put in the hard work, it’s worth it. After what felt like an endless descent, we finally caught a glimpse of the falls, which seemed many more miles away.
We then had to snake around to the left, along what looked like pretty unstable wooden platforms and bridges to then make our way down to the bottom, where the surroundings are luscious and beautiful.
By this time, we were sticky and sweaty and more than ready to get into the water. Hobbling over smooth pebble-stones and muddy slush to get to the water wasn’t the easiest thing, but we managed.
We quickly discovered these falls have an enormous amount of strength to them, water with brute force literally cascades down them and can push you over if you stand under it.
Laughing and spluttering in the spray, we had a ball.
If you’re adventurous and want to get a bit closer to the top – a small path up the right-hand side can lead you up to a rocky ledge much closer to the top of the waterfall, for some different angles of the falls, surrounded by luscious greenery.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to these falls, as do many of the tourists who visit Bali. Would highly recommend making the pit-stop and allocating some time in the refreshing spray.
Quick Facts
| Last visit | December 2015 |
| Best Time | Year-round |
| Start / Finish | Carpark at Jl. Raya |
| Unsealed Roads | Yes but good condition |
| Walking distance | Short but with over 150 steps |
| Time | 15 minutes one way |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Facilities | Cafe |
| Lat & Long | 8.5754° S, 115.2884° E |
| Nearby | Monkey forest (30 mins), Ubud |
| Watercourse | unknown |