Bali temple rules as the provincial government states them

The short answer

Two texts from Bali's provincial government speak to entering a pura, and they do not say the same thing. Governor of Bali Regulation No. 25 of 2020 (Pergub Bali 25/2020), Article 45(1), reads: "Dilarang memasuki Pura bagi: a. Setiap orang dalam keadaan Cuntaka atau Sebel; dan b. Setiap orang yang tidak berhubungan langsung dengan suatu upacara persembahyangan, piodalan dan/atau kegiatan pelindungan Pura." In XTOUR's translation: entering a pura is prohibited for (a) anyone in a state of cuntaka or sebel, and (b) anyone not directly connected with a ceremony of worship, a piodalan (temple anniversary) and/or a temple-protection activity.[1]

The Governor's Circular No. 07 of 2025, addressed among others to foreign tourists, sets a narrower line for them: they are prohibited from "entering the Utamaning Mandala and Madyaning Mandala (the innermost and middle sanctum) of sacred places or temples, except for the purpose of worship while wearing Balinese traditional attire or prayer garments, and provided they are not on their menstrual period."[4]

Neither text says how a particular temple applies it to visitors. That is decided at the temple, and XTOUR does not know it temple by temple.

What the 2020 regulation is

Pergub Bali 25/2020 is titled "Fasilitasi Pelindungan Pura, Pratima, dan Simbol Keagamaan", on facilitating the protection of temples, pratima (consecrated sacred objects) and religious symbols. The certified copy XTOUR read was set and promulgated in Bali on 29 May 2020 and, by its Article 56, took effect on promulgation.[1] The Bali Provincial Tourism Office lists it on its page of governor's regulations.[2]

Its definitions carry most of the weight for a visitor:[1]

• Pura is a holy place for worshipping Hyang Widhi Wasa in all his manifestations and the deified ancestors (Article 1, point 7).
• Cuntaka or sebel is "a state of impurity as a result of death, birth, menstruation, and other matters regarded as impure" (Article 1, point 10).
• Awig-awig are rules made by a desa adat (customary village) or banjar adat that apply to krama desa adat (members), krama tamiu (non-member residents) and tamiu (point 12). Tamiu are named alongside the residents, so the regulation's definition does not limit awig-awig to members of the village.
• Pengempon pura are the community members, organised through a desa adat, banjar adat or similar body, who are obliged to maintain the temple and prepare and carry out its rites (point 15).

Article 5 sorts pura into six classes, from the Sad Kahyangan, the principal temples at the nine points of the compass in Bali, down to Kahyangan Desa temples of a customary village and family temples (sanggah or merajan).[1] The entry prohibition in Article 45 does not distinguish between them.

Article 13: the same rule as a maintenance duty

The prohibition appears twice. Article 13 deals with maintaining a pura to prevent cuntaka, damage, change of use or loss, and lists the means of preventing cuntaka: forbidding entry to anyone in cuntaka; forbidding entry to anyone not directly connected with a ceremony, worship, piodalan or protection activity; and "memasang papan pengumuman", putting up notice boards about those two prohibitions. The same article says the temple's three courts, the Tri Mandala, are to be used "sesuai fungsi keagamaan, pendidikan, dan sosial budaya", according to their religious, educational and socio-cultural functions, and asks for maintenance without single-use plastic.[1]

XTOUR's reading is that the regulation places the notice board, and so the practical statement of the rule at a given temple, with the people who maintain it. Article 14 names the pengempon pura, institutions and relevant agencies as the ones who carry out maintenance.[1]

Article 46: who sanctions, and how

A breach of any prohibition in Article 45 carries customary sanctions (sanksi adat), which Article 46 lists as arta danda (a fine), pengaksama danda (a formal apology) and sangaskara danda (a particular ceremony).[1] They are applied by the desa adat and/or the pengempon pura. Damaging or defiling a pura, damaging or stealing pratima, and damaging, stealing, defiling or misusing religious symbols (Article 45(2) to (4)) are also sanctioned under the general laws.[1] The regulation gives no amount for a fine.

What the 2025 circular adds for foreign tourists

Circular Letter No. 07 of 2025, "The New Code of Conduct for Foreign Tourists while Staying in Bali", is dated 21 March 2025 and signed by Governor Wayan Koster; the provincial tourism office lists it on its regulations page and hosts an English text.[3] It lists Pergub Bali 25/2020 among the instruments it considers.[4]

On temples, the circular requires foreign tourists to respect "the sanctity of temples, sacred objects, and other consecrated religious symbols", to "dress modestly, appropriately, and respectfully when visiting sacred areas", and to "comply with all specific rules and regulations applicable to each tourist attraction and tourism activity". It also requires them to be accompanied by a licensed tour guide, "who understands the natural environment, customs, traditions, and local wisdom of the Balinese people", when visiting tourist attractions. Besides the inner-court rule quoted above, it prohibits climbing trees regarded as sacred, and "behavior that desecrates sacred places, temples, sacred objects, and religious symbols, such as climbing sacred buildings or taking indecent/inappropriate photos, including nudity".[4]

Breaches of the obligations or prohibitions are "subject to strict enforcement, including sanctions or legal proceedings, in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations of Indonesia"; the circular assigns supervision to the provincial civil service police (Satpol PP) and asks the Bali Regional Police to act against violators.[4] It names no specific penalty for the temple rules.

Where the two texts differ

The regulation, read as written, does not mention courts at all and covers anyone not taking part in worship or protection.[1] The circular names only the two inner courts for foreign tourists and is silent on the outer court.[4] XTOUR does not read the circular's silence as permission to enter the outer court of any particular temple, and it does not know how the provincial government reconciles the two texts.

The provincial tourism office's own attraction pages sit beside both texts. It lists Pura Taman Ayun, which its page calls the temple of the Mengwi kingdom and a place where the Mengwi kings' ancestors are worshipped, as a verified destination under Badung.[9] Its Pura Uluwatu page, published in 2021 and also marked as a verified destination, calls the temple a place of worship of a Balinese-Hindu deity and says that "only a true Hindu follower can enter the second smaller temple inside".[8] XTOUR's reading is that the practice at each temple, not either provincial text on its own, is what a visitor meets at the gate.

One custodian's own answer

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary at Padangtegal in Ubud, which has three temples inside it, publishes how it applies the rule. Its Sacred Place page marks its temples "OPEN FOR THE PRAYER ONLY" and "THE TEMPLE IS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITY ONLY".[5] Its FAQ names them as Pura Dalem, the Holy Water Temple and the cremation temple, Pura Prajapati, and answers "Can visitors enter the temple?" with "The temple is only for prayer in the Balinese traditional means"; its About page says visitors "are not permitted to enter some sacred temples" but "can still observe from outside".[7] Its guidelines also ask visitors to dress respectfully and to obey the signs marking sacred areas that are off-limits.[6]

That is the pattern Article 13 of the regulation anticipates: the rule stated by the people responsible for the temple, on the spot. For anything more about the Monkey Forest as a place, see Ubud as a base in Bali.

What XTOUR does not know

• Which temples admit visitors to which courts, at what times, and with what dress; whether sarongs or sashes are lent or required at a given temple.
• How the menstruation and cuntaka rules are checked or communicated at a temple gate.
• How the licensed-guide obligation in the 2025 circular is applied at temples, and by whom.
• How a desa adat sets a customary fine in practice; the regulation gives no amount.

Bali's provincial government also runs a levy on foreign tourists and observes Nyepi, the day of silence; see the Bali tourist levy guide and Nyepi in Bali: planning around the day of silence. The country picture is at Indonesia.