Bali is bursting with amazing waterfalls and you could spend weeks and weeks discovering new ones.
Well, once you head north, you’ll discover some epic waterfalls and Sekumpul waterfall (also known as air tengen sekumpul) is an awesome one.
It's actually considered one of the most famous waterfalls in Bali and it's really no surprise why!
Brad and I visited this waterfall on our own, basically without a guide, and below we will take you through all you need to know about visiting the beautiful Sekumpul waterfall.
Sekumpul waterfall is located in Singaraja, which is a beautiful region of Bali in the north that actually boats quite a number of waterfalls.
So since Sekumpul waterfall is located in the north area of Bali, you’re going to do a little bit of travelling if you find yourself located in the more touristy areas of Canguu, Kuta or Seminyak. But not to fear, it’s super easy to get around Bali and you’ve got a few options.
Rent a moped: For those feeling confident, you can easily rent a moped and drive to Sekumpul waterfall yourself. It will take around 3 hours (with stops), so it’s a good idea to stay overnight somewhere close by. A good place to rest for the night is Lovina.
You can book a moped online and it’s typically delivered to the address you are staying at. Book here.
Hire a driver: If you’d rather relax in an air conditioned car whilst travelling to Sekumpul waterfall, you can easily rent a driver for the day. There are a few options when it comes to this. You can actually rent drivers for up to 8-10 hours via the Grab app, or you can book a driver online for a full day. Like this guy here! If you’ve got a driver you may as well combine your visit to Sekumpul waterfall with other waterfalls in the area such as, Git Git or Aling Aling.
Don’t forget you can book a driver here.
Take a tour: More and more tour companies are offering the chance to do waterfall tours which will take you to some of the best waterfalls in the north of Bali, including Sekumpul waterfall. So if you’d like the convenience of seeing a few waterfalls in one full day, then a tour might be the way to go. I’ve scanned the web and these are my two favorite tours to Sekumpul waterfall:
Ubud is one of the most popular places to stay in Bali for tourists, so it’s no surprise that this is one of the most commonly asked questions. Ubud is around 2.5 hours via moped to Sekumpul waterfall. Of course this is all traffic dependent, and as you know, the traffic around Ubud can build up!
If visiting Sekumpul waterfall from Ubud, I suggest you either hire a driver, or rent a moped and visit yourself.
Yes you can, it’s very clear and very cold, so if you’re looking to cool off from the Bali heat, then swimming in Sekumpul waterfall is probably a good idea.
A few years ago there used to be no cost, and locals tried to impose a “tourist tax” that was basically a scam, BUT, nowadays, regulations have been put in place and there is a cost to visit Sekumpul waterfall. Actually there are a range of prices depending on what you want to do. They are as follows (these prices are correct as of August 2019):
I don’t have the exact prices of the medium and long trekking (Sorry), but I can tell you they are in the region of $15-20, so it’s a little pricey, but the tour lasts for 4-6 hours!
You CANNOT walk down to the falls anymore without paying for a guide, which is annoying. If anyone knows of another way down, then please let us know so I can pop it in here.
Just remember not to park where you buy tickets on the road, it’ll add an extra hour or so onto your walking journey in the heat. Yes, the road down to the second parking spot is only for mopeds, but if you’re on one, take advantage!
If you plan on walking down to the waterfalls and having a swim and taking some pictures underneath, you’ll need to set aside around 4 hours to do everything well and to avoid rushing yourself.
If you’re short on time, then I suggest you just visit the viewing platforms. There are actually a couple of entrance points, the north entrance and south entrance, depending on the road you drive in from, but they all offer stunning views of the Sekumpul waterfall!
I think it’s best to visit early in the morning before the blistering heat takes over, or if you can, wait until after 3 and just before sunset to get cooler temperatures. But remember, if you do option B and your driving yourself, then stay somewhere close by, rather than driving back to Canggu/Ubud/Kuta in the dark.
When you go to Sekumpul waterfall, there is an “official” parking area and from there, it takes quite a while to walk before you even reach the steps to climb down to the waterfall itself. If you want, you can do what Brad and I did, and drive your moped to a second small parking area, (and another place to buy tickets) which means you’re about a 4 minute walk from the steps.
There is no cost to park.
In general the best months to visit Bali weather wise is during June/July and August. However, these are peak times, so the waterfalls will be popular. I suggested you visit early September for the chance of great weather and less crowds.
But either way, make sure you head to the waterfall early and then you’ll have it yourself, at least for a little bit.
If you want to stay in north Bali and be a little closer to Sekumpul, then you’ve got some great options. I actually love north Bali and think it’s still a hidden, undiscovered gem of the island, so I 100% recommend that you spend a couple of days in this region.
We stayed in an Airbnb called “Sunset Sala'' and it’s only 6km from Sekumpul waterfall and close to all the other awesome waterfalls in the area. This is one of the best airbnbs I’ve ever stayed at. It’s tucked away in a local village and you stay in a beautiful hut style accommodation right among stunning rice paddies.
Breakfast and dinner are served on your porch with beautiful views and the food is delicious. I highly recommend this place, but I do suggest you have your own moped as it’s more a secluded destination.
You can book it here and if you’ve never used airbnb before you can use our discount code to get money off when you sign up.
As I mentioned before, there are lots of awesome waterfalls in Bali and if you’ve made it all the way to Sekumpul waterfall, then you may as well check out some of the others. Below I’ve listed some waterfalls that I highly recommend you visit.
Actually, if you’d like a private tour to some of these awesome waterfalls with a fabulous lunch, tour guide and air conditioned car, then I suggest you check out the ForeverVacation Bali Secret Waterfall Tour. I did a Bali Instagram Tour with these guys and it was awesome (you can check out my review here if you like)
READ: Epic Guide To The Best Waterfalls In Bali
So there you have it, my guide to visiting Sekumpul waterfall in Bali. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and hopefully felt it was useful, if you’ve got any other important information to add, then simply pop a comment below!
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Happy travels!
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