Situated in a valley in the northeast corner of Tampaksiring under a spectacular banyan tree, 37 km northeast of Denpasar at the end of a well-signposted road, the Tirta Empul temple and its 20 small sugar-palm thatched shrines are beautifully decorated and maintained. Savor the serene atmosphere of the complex, which is set against a backdrop of surviving forest.

Even the souvenir shops outside the temple are neat and orderly. Tirta Empul is on nearly every tour group's itinerary of central Bali. Fleets of tour buses visit the site, which is open only during daylight hours. From the parking lot, visitors have to run the usual gauntlet of souvenir stands to the temple compound, which you may enter after renting a sash.

Seeking protective blessings and deliverance from illness, people journey from all over Bali to bathe in this sacred cleansing spring where terrifying 'garuda' scowl down on naked bathers floating among the lily pads. Seeing it on a rainy day adds even more mystery to the site.

There's a large square altar dedicated to Batara Indra, and elaborate carvings adorn the lichen-covered walls surrounding the pools. Built under the rule of Sri Candrabhaya Singha Warmadewa in the 10th century, the complex was completely restored and given a new paint job in 1969. Tirta Empul conforms to the structure of most Balinese temples. It's divided into three main courtyards: the front, the middle and the inner sanctum. Backing the outer courtyard are two rectangular bathing pools, one for men and one for women.

According to tradition, each of the pool's 15 fountains has its own name and function: spiritual purification, cleansing from evil, antidote to poison. The gin-clear freshwater spring at a higher level is the source of the water that bubbles up under the pools. The water is so clear plants growing at the bottom of the pool are clearly visible, as are a number of fish and a rather large eel. Because it's believed that from this spring bubbles the elixir of immortality. It's surrounded by a wall to prevent it from being profaned.

The Balinese use holy water as an essential part of almost every ritual. Their religion is in fact called Agama Tirta, or 'The Religion of the Holy Water'. Tirta Empul's water is looked upon as the holiest on Bali, widely thought to possess magical curative powers. The spring is believed to have been created by the god Indra, who pierced the Earth to tap amerta, the restoring waters that brought back to life his army, which was poisoned by the demon-king Mayadanawa.