Bali’s Tibumana Waterfall (And Taman Sari Nearby)

We stopped at Tibumana during an extensive tour of the waterfalls on this part of Bali, and I’ll be honest: it’s not a favorite.

Still, it’s pretty, and there’s another site up the road to check out in the area featuring a two-tiered waterfall and natural pool for swimming.

Key Info on Visiting Tibumana:

• Cost:   29,000 IDR / $1.25  USD
• The hike includes a pretty walk down a path and two bridges.
• Open:  Daily 7:00am – 6:00pm
• There’s a rocky beach and a natural pool for swimming.
• Checkout Taman Sari up the road.

While many tourists opt to rent motorbikes on Bali, if you’re unfamiliar with the roads here, it can be frustrating to follow directions and drive at the same time.

It’s less of a hassle, and cost-effective, to hire a driver for the day.  We’ve had excellent drivers from this company:

🚙 CLICK to Book a Driver on Bali

For the entire day, or 10 hours, it’s usually about $50. The drivers are flexible and can either follow your preferred list of destinations or come up with their own suggestions.

As is the case with all of the waterfalls in the area, the road to Tibumana will be narrow and winding, with plenty of traffic.

 Here are some of the travel times and distances from around Bali to Tibumana:

• DPS Airport:  30 miles / 1.75 hour
• Ubud:     9 miles / 45 minutes
• Seminyak:  30 miles / 1.75 hour
• Kuta:  30 miles / 1.5 hour

The waterfall itself almost looks manmade, with the water flowing evenly over a flat rock at the top of the cliff into a pool below.

Tibumana has one of the larger swimming holes in the area.  The water is a few feet deep, so it’s a nice way to cool off after your hike.

There’s also a large rocky, sandy beach area nearby.

 You’ll likely find a bit of a crowd here, posing for photos.

Taman Sari is also the name given to a historic castle complex in Yogyakarta, which is on Java.  It served as a royal garden and bathing complex for royals in the 1700s.

Taman Sari on Bali is the name given to a two-tiered waterfall and natural swimming pool.  It’s only one mile up the road from Tibumana.

It’s 20,000 IDR ($1.50) to enter. You’ll pay the fee at the lot up the street from the waterfall path.

Off to the side, there’s a staircase that’ll bring you up to the main waterfall on site.  You’ll find a smaller swimming spot up there, too.

The water below isn’t deep enough for jumping off the top ledge, and there’s often a guard on duty.

Nothing special is required for a visit to Tibumana.  I’d suggest:

• Water shoes, or sneakers that can get wet if you’re going swimming
• Bathing suit & towel  
• SPF, even if it’s cloudy since there’s not much tree cover on the rocky beach
• Insect repellent (while mosquitoes aren’t always bad, I always recommend carrying it)

 If you’re serious about getting quality images at Tibumana, I’d suggest: 

• Visiting early in the morning to avoid the crowd and prevent harsh overhead sunlight.
• Consider using a tripod to capture long exposure shots of the waterfall.
• If people are swimming behind you, it’s easy to use editing software to erase them and turn them into water.

Most of the waterfalls offer food and drinks.

There are a few restaurants and coffee shops along the walk to the Tibumana waterfall, plus a gelato shop.

You might want to make a day of waterfall stops in this part of Bali.  

• Kanto Lampo:  About 4 miles down the road from Tibumana, you’ll find a different experience at Kanto Lampo.  The waterfall itself is very pretty, but expect a big crowd of people at its base taking photos on the rocks.
• Goa Rajo (below):  Sometimes listed as “Goa Raja” on maps, this is a two-for-one spot. You’ll hike down to a spring-fed, manmade pool, and then a gorgeous waterfall tucked behind giant rock walls.  It’s about 30 minutes north of Kanto Lampo.
• Tukad Cepung: Nearby, Tukad Cepung is one of the more famous (or Insta-famous) waterfalls in the area.  It involves a bit of a hike through a rock gorge to a beautiful waterfall in a cave-like setting.

The answer to this is really up to each individual person’s preferences and priorities.

A few things to keep in mind to help you decide:

• July and August are the dry months, and also the most crowded.
• The monsoon season makes Bali rainy from October into April.

Based on those factors, my advice is to aim for a visit to Bali in late April or May.   You might still run into some evening or overnight showers, but for the most part, they won’t last long enough to impact your itinerary outside.

If I had a list of 10 waterfalls I was trying to stop at in this part of Bali, Tibumana would be at the bottom of the list.  

With that in mind, everyone prefers a different kind of experience, and some people would prioritize a swimming hole and beach area where you could have a picnic and relax in the sun.  If that’s what you’re looking for, definitely head to Tibumana.

Other Waterfalls Nearby

Check out our posts on waterfalls on Bali. Many of them are in the same area, but with the roads and congestion it can take a while to drive between them.

• Leke Leke
• Kanto Lampo
• Goa Raja
• Tegalalang Rice Terraces
• Taman Beji Griya
• Tukad Cepung

I’d also suggest spending the morning at Cretya Ubud, a luxury day club. Great prices, beautiful pools, and a sprawling property to explore!

Hotels Nearby

There are a lot of hotels and resorts in the area, but for me Chapung Sebali, is the one I’ll return to. They have spacious rooms and suites, many of which have their own private pools.

You can enter your dates for hotels and rentals available from Booking, Hotels.com, VRBO, and other trusted sites: