chloedickensonLast Updated on 12th July 2023
This post about the Gates of Heaven Bali reality contains affiliate links.
There are some places in the world that are deemed to be so breathtaking and “unmissable” that you’d be crazy to not have them on your bucket list. I always thought one of those places was The Gate To Heaven in Bali; AKA Lempuyang Temple.
As I always do whenever we’re planning our next destination on our trip around the world, I took to the likes of fellow blogs, Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration on the “must-see” things in Bali.
One thing that kept cropping up time and again?
Lempuyang Temple or as it’s more affectionately and commonly known: The Gates of Heaven Bali.
So, I’m sure you can imagine my immense surprise when we arrived at one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bali to discover that every single picture and blog post I’d seen about the Temple was a complete lie!
If you want to know more about the Lempuyang Temple and Gates of Heaven in Bali reality, check out my honest and thought-provoking post below!
The Gates of Heaven Bali reality: Instagram vs Real life
In the interest of not pissing anyone off or offending anyone, I won’t share individual images of the Temple that I found that so many other people had shared on Instagram. Instead, I’ve just screenshot the top 9 results that come up when you search for “#lempuyangtemple” on Instagram.
What you’ll find is a collection of wanderlust-worthy, otherworldly, magical images that give the illusion that there’s an enormous gate towering many feet into the air, surrounded by a mysterious reflective body of water on the ground below.
There are also tonnes of pictures where you can see a mystical mountain in the background; giving this fairy-tale-like place a totally ethereal feel.
It looks so spectacular that you’d be crazy not to want to go there, right?! How on earth is there a place that looks THIS magical and wondrous?
The truth?
IT’S NOT REAL!
The gate part of The Gates of Heaven is completely real (albeit it’s much smaller in real life than it appears in photos) and so is the impressive mountain in the background which you can see on a clear day, however that’s where the realities end.
In terms of the “body of water” on the ground in front of the gate?
IT’S A TINY MIRROR! (Take a look at the picture below!)
In order to create the magical illusion of a perfectly still lake with an impressively calm reflective surface, there’s a man who holds your phone at the correct angle just above a mirror so that when the picture is taken, the mirror lines up perfectly with the bottom of the gate.
I have to admit; it’s a very clever trick and one that I’d never have picked up on myself simply by scrolling through images on Instagram.
And that’s because no one tells you.
All of these people; primarily Instagrammers and influencers, share the images that are taken with the mirror trick without being clear about the authenticity of the picture. You may be thinking that it’s really not a big deal at all and why am I even bringing this up so much that I had to write an entire blog post about it?
But as a full-time traveller and travel blogger whose aim is to share my real-life accounts of my travels around the world and who endeavours to be as truthful and as transparent as possible, I felt that it was kind of my duty to share the truth about The Gates of Heaven in Bali.
Furthermore, not only is this picture a lie, but you also have to queue for up to four hours (!!!) AND then pay for the privilege of taking the picture! The queues to take the pictures when we were there were around 3 hours long and we were there just after lunchtime so it was swelteringly hot.
Also, as you can see from the pictures of me in this post, if you angle your camera just right, you can usually get a picture without many people in it anyway, without the need to queue for hours.
An alternative side to The Gates of Heaven picture
I wasn’t actually going to share this part as I kind of wanted to keep it a secret but I’m determined to be as honest as possible so here goes.
You can take a picture of the back of The Gates of Heaven with no one in it!
The pictures above and below were taken around the other side of the gate that no one really seems to know about as it doesn’t look like you can gain access to it as there’s a security guard who sits at the entrance to it.
However, as we were walking back down towards the scooter pick-up points, Matt spotted a couple of people standing on the back of the steps of the temple with no one else around.
By the time we got up there to take pictures, everyone else was leaving and we had the opportunity to snap away as many pictures as we wanted, without queuing or paying or succumbing to using a mirror in order to get a false picture!
Unfortunately, you don’t get the mountain in the background by taking pictures this side of the gate but you do get an authentic picture without anyone in it and you save yourself around £6 just to take a picture!
If I’m being completely honest, I also actually prefer the pictures that we took behind the gate as I love the way the stairs look in the background and how you can see the gate as well.
It also meant that there were no queues at all, and while I love being able to get THAT shot, I begrudge paying for it with my time and money!
How to get to Lempuyang Temple – is it worth it?
Lempuyang Temple sits high up on top of a beautiful mountainside which means it’s not exactly easy to get to.
In order to get to Lempuyang, you either hire a motorbike from your accommodation in Bali and drive yourself there or hire a driver to take you in a car. However, if you choose to go by car (like we did as we had all our bags and backpacks with us), you can only go so far up the mountain before you have to stop in a carpark and then pay for a scooter to take you to the top (and back down again).
If you’re like me and not a huge fan of scooters, then the journey definitely isn’t the most enjoyable but the views on the way up are pretty spectacular.
Entrance fees: Entry into Lempuyang Temple is a supposed “donation” however you do have to pay 10,000IDR (55p) to rent a sarong if you don’t have your own.
Lempuyang Temple is also home to a beautiful set of temples that can be reached via two sets of stairs (you can’t use the middle set of stairs!). However, I don’t think you can go inside unless you’re going to pray but the view from the top of the steps is absolutely beautiful (and is a great way to see all the people standing queueing to take a picture near the gate)!
I really hope you’ve read this post with a pinch of salt and I truly hope that I haven’t offended anyone with my opinions on The Gates of Heaven. If queuing for hours and paying for a picture is your kind of thing then, by all means, go for it and pay no attention to me! However, I just wanted to share the truth behind the images in case you weren’t aware already!
Many people can only go on one holiday a year, if that, and they spend months and years saving so I want to ensure that you can book a holiday somewhere knowing that what you might find isn’t quite what you thought.
It’s so important to me to share the real sides of travel so that you’re fully aware before you go and aren’t left disappointed when you arrive!
Related posts:
- Why I Didn’t Love Bali As Much As I Wanted To
- The Truth About How Instagram Gives An Inaccurate Representation of Bali
- Trinity Gardens Ubud
- A 10-Day Travel Itinerary For Gili T
- Where To Stay In Bali For Every Budget
- How To Visit Ubud Monkey Forest In Bali
- The Best Day Trip From Ubud, Bali
Pin for later – The Gates of Heaven Bali reality
Did you know the truth about The Gates of Heaven Bali? What are your thoughts on using the mirror trick to create a false image? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.
I remember this a while back I think it was in the news how it wasn’t real too. It’s so sad how many influencers give people the wrong impressions, the back of the gate looks more impressive to me tbf. My cousin recently stayed in Bali and she said there was a pool somewhere that you couldn’t go in as youtubers and influencers queue or take turns to go into this one pool so people won’t spoil the background of their photos, so sad.
We saw that pool too and I actually wrote about it in another blog post of mine! It’s a religious water temple and the amount of people stood queueing to take a picture there was unbelievable and so disrespectful! I definitely think it needs to be shown more so that people realise that it’s inappropriate to treat these religious places in such ways! Thank you for your comment and insight Michelle! x