What are the rules for visiting temples in Bali?

Balinese temples are working religious sites, not monuments. People are praying in them while you take photographs, which is the whole reason the rules exist.

What to wear

A sarong, tied at the waist, covering the legs to the ankle, plus a sash tied around the waist. Both are lent or rented at the entrance of any temple that receives visitors, usually included in the entry fee or a small extra.

Cover your shoulders. Vest tops and beachwear are not acceptable, and at the more serious temples you will be turned away.

Men and women follow the same standard. Wearing your own sarong is fine and slightly better received than the loan version.

The rules that matter most

Do not enter the inner courtyard unless you are there to pray and are invited to. Visitors are usually welcome in the outer areas only, and the boundary is marked.

Never stand or sit higher than a priest or a praying worshipper. If you are photographing a ceremony, be lower than the people in it, and stay behind them.

Do not walk in front of someone praying. Go behind.

Women who are menstruating are asked not to enter temples. This is a genuine rule of ritual purity, it is posted at entrances, and it is observed by locals. Nobody checks; it is on your honour.

Do not climb on shrines or statues for a photograph. This is the offence that periodically makes international news and gets people removed from the country, and Bali's tolerance for it has run out.

Do not step on offerings. The small palm-leaf trays of flowers and rice, canang sari, are laid on the ground everywhere. Step around them. If you accidentally kick one, it is not a catastrophe; be respectful about it.

Do not touch anyone's head, including children, and pass and receive with the right hand.

Be quiet during ceremony. Drone noise over a ceremony is the modern version of shouting in a church.

Photography

Generally allowed in outer areas. Flash during prayer, standing above worshippers, and drones over ceremonies are not. If you want a portrait of someone in ceremonial dress, ask. People usually say yes.

Which temples are worth it

Uluwatu, on the cliff, best at sunset, with the kecak performance afterwards and monkeys who will take your sunglasses.

Tanah Lot, on its rock, spectacular and crowded. Go early or late.

Tirta Empul, the water temple with the purification pools. If you want to bathe, you need a sarong for the water, you follow the sequence of spouts, and you skip the two used for funerary rites. A guide is worth it here.

Besakih, the mother temple on Agung's slopes, the most important on the island, with a redeveloped visitor entrance.

Lempuyang, known worldwide for the "gates of heaven" photograph, which involves a long queue and a reflection created with a mirror held under a phone. The temple itself is genuine and beautiful and the photo is a trick.

Ulun Danu Beratan, the lake temple on the 50,000 rupiah note, in the cool highlands.

Ceremonies and processions

You will meet them on the road. Stop, pull over, wait, do not push through, and do not photograph from inside a car window in a way that puts a lens in someone's face. A procession is why you are late; it is not an inconvenience.

Temple anniversaries, odalan, happen constantly, and being at a village temple during one is the best thing that can happen to a visitor. Ask whether you may watch, wear a sarong, and sit at the back.