Lakes, waterfalls and mountains – Manduk, Bali

George was desperate to see the Water Temple of Lake Beretan that’s pictured on the 50k Indonesian Rupiah bank note, so we decided to spend a couple of nights in the area of Manduk.

This area also includes the twin lakes Buyan and Tamblingan and we have spent the last three days just gazing in wonder at the absolutely stunning scenery.

At 1200m above sea level, the three lakes are nestled in a mountainous, jungle area in the centre of the northern section of Bali. It’s therefore a bit chillier, especially on a night, but still a good 25 degrees C in the day (much more on a sunny day) so just pack a hoodie for the evening and you’ll be fine!

We stayed at a friendly, family run guesthouse Bukit Kembar Ecotourism, which was about 200m from the viewpoint where you can look across both Buyan and Tamblingan lakes. Even on a cloudy day this is a spectacular view! (Main pic.)

Both the twin lakes are surrounded by jungle, which you can trek through. If you walk a further 200m down the road from the viewpoint you get to an office that will charge you entry to the trekking and temple area around the lakes. It’s only 20k (£1.50), though. This allows you to descend 470 (very steep) steps, see the temple at the bottom and then plunge onwards into the jungle! We had a great time getting lost trying to find lake Buyan through greenery, which was very loud with birds and insects, although we didn’t really see anything other than a few spiders and butterflies.

We also took a trek through the jungle along the main ‘path’ (trodden mud through the trees and bushes) which took us to a second temple that overlooks Tamblingan, where you can get a ride in a wooden canoe across the lake. This cost 100k each which was a bit steep considering pricing generally here, but a really lovely experience. You can pay an 250k each for this canoe ride as well as a guide to take you through the jungle and a taxi back from the other side of the lake, but you really don’t need a guide and we were happy to walk back – it’s a beautiful walk! There’s even a Tarzan swing along the way! Although those 470 steps back up
were a killer in the heat ha!

The whole experience was really great – it was really quiet with hardly any tourists and there happened to be a Hindu festival taking place so we were able to sit with a load of locals and enjoy a delicious bowl of Asian broth with meatballs, rice, egg, noodles and veg for 10k. It was a great way to really experience Balinese life in this area.

During our stay we of course also went to see Lake Beretan and its temple. We paid 25k each to get into the temple complex, which was really beautiful. And George got to get his photo of the temple on the lake so we can essentially make our own 50k notes now right? 😉

Waterfalls

The lakes are an obvious highlight of this area, but so too are the waterfalls! It’s only about a 30min drive from Bali’s famous Gitgit waterfall, but we didn’t end up making it there in the end.

Instead we took a wander through the farming land and jungle areas as we’d heard there were waterfalls within walking distance. As we got closer we saw signs for the Banyumala twin waterfalls and (after paying 15k each to descend some makeshift bamboo and tree root steps) eventually found them!

I had never seen a waterfall like this before, but they seemed pretty spectacular to me! They were super tall and absolutely stunning with a crystal clear pool at the bottom. There were only a couple of Balinese youngsters about who had a little splash about with us before leaving us alone in the very cold but fresh pool. It was just stunning – so secluded and peaceful – and definitely one of the big highlights of my time in Bali.

You can actually find the waterfalls much easier than we did and drive to within about 10mins of them. From our accommodation at Bukit Kembar Ecotourism you turn left onto the main road and turn off left again after about 5mins driving (max) when you see the sign for waterfalls and keep following the signs until you get there. I’d probably recommend driving as it’s a steep climb back up to the road, which thankfully we only had to take on half of because a friendly Balinese life saver picked us up in his truck as he passed us! 🙂