Filming at temples in Bali: zones, managers and consent

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table carry their source and check month. Fees change, and they are official or third-party figures, not our offers.

Filming at temples in Bali rests on three layers: conduct rules that bind every visitor, the manager who runs the site, and the temple authority and priests present on the day. The production company Hoodlum says temple consent sits outside the ministry's general permit. No source sets a uniform fee or process, so each temple is a separate conversation.

What does filming at temples in Bali involve?

It involves more than one permission, and they come from different people. Before asking about fees, work out which layer you are dealing with:

1. Conduct rules. These come from the province and apply to all visitors, with or without a camera.
2. The site manager. Some temples have a managing body that publishes its own page.
3. The temple authority and priests. According to Your Happiness Tours, a travel blog, priests can ask anyone to stop.

According to Hoodlum, each temple authority has to give its own permission, and the general ministry permit does not stand in for it. That is an operator statement and not a legal text, and the ministry permit it refers to is Indonesia's national film permit. It fits what the sites themselves publish, as the examples below show.

Which temple zones are off limits?

Circular 7 of 2025, as published by the Bali tourism office, says foreign tourists may not enter the main or middle sacred temple areas (Utamaning and Madyaning Mandala) unless worshipping in traditional attire. Do not read a filming permit as an exemption. Ask the temple authority and your mission.

The same circular forbids climbing sacred trees or monuments and rules out inappropriate or nude photos at religious sites. The province's Love Bali guidelines repeat the warning about improper photos and conduct in sacred areas, and add that nobody should step on, damage or interfere with offerings or ceremonial items. On a shoot, that last rule reaches further than it first appears. Cable runs, tripods, light stands and crew moving backwards with a camera are all ways of disturbing an offering by accident, so brief the whole crew before anyone enters.

Circular 7 also says visitors to cultural or natural sites must be accompanied by certified guides. Confirm with the temple authority how that applies to a crew, and whether your local partner or the site supplies the guide.

For the outer courtyards, the most specific wording comes from a travel blog and not from an official rule. Your Happiness Tours says cameras are usually fine there except while a ceremony is running, and that a priest may ask anyone to stop. If a priest asks you to stop, stop.

Who gives permission at a temple?

That differs by site, and what each one publishes varies a good deal. Here are three examples, drawn from their own pages:

The details come from the Tanah Lot site, the Uluwatu site, Wikipedia on Uluwatu, and the Besakih site, which describes Penataran Agung at the centre with 25 Pakideh temples around it. Wikipedia puts Mount Agung at 3,031 metres. At Besakih, ask whether any consent covers the whole area or only named temples, since the site describes so many.

A manager's yes is not always the last word. The operator SNXP Studio describes a Canggu shoot that was affected by a nearby temple anniversary and concerns from the banjar, the local community council. That is one anecdote, but it shows a temple can matter to a shoot even when it is not the location. For the wider question of who signs what, see location permits for filming in Bali.

What does Tanah Lot ask of commercial shoots?

It asks you to report to the management. The official ticket page puts photo sessions, drone flights, shooting and other commercial purposes in that one instruction. That covers a photoshoot as well as a video crew. The page gives no fee for those uses, so a request for a figure in writing is the next step.

The same page lists foreign adult and child admission, plus separate vehicle rates. The foreign adult admission appears in the price table on this page; it is what a visitor pays to enter and should not be read as a filming charge. Do not assume that another temple works like Tanah Lot. Ask each one for its own rate.

Commercial wedding work has its own wrinkle. On pre-wedding shoots, Bali Bliss Concierge reports that a professional photographer will often face a location fee and a separate photography permit, with the details changing from site to site. It is a company's blog, so check the claim with the temple concerned.

What about ceremonies and worshippers?

Do not build a shoot around them. Circular 7 tells visitors to observe customs and honour traditions, especially during ceremonies, and Bali Bliss Concierge warns that prayer or ceremony times can shut a temple to shoots. A production schedule can move and a ceremony cannot, so check the date of a temple's ceremonies before you fix yours, and keep a spare slot.

People at prayer are not background. If they are identifiable, you are filming someone at worship who has not agreed to appear in your work. The respectful default is to leave them out of frame and let the temple authority say otherwise. The island-wide closure at Nyepi is a separate matter, with its own guide to filming in Bali during Nyepi.

Can a drone fly over a temple?

Two separate approvals are in play. The first is the site. Tanah Lot names drone flights among the uses to report, and Bali Bliss Concierge says drones need separate permission. Uluwatu's and Besakih's main pages say nothing on drones, so a "drone permit for Uluwatu" is a question for its managing body. The second is the airspace, which follows aviation rules whatever the temple decides. Our drone rules page for Bali covers that side.

Some blogs print a fixed-distance temple zone for drones. We know of no official text behind that figure, so it is not repeated here as a rule. Ask the temple and the aviation authority. And consider whether the shot is worth taking at a place of worship, even with every approval in order.

What do crews and photographers ask about temples?

Can I film ceremonies in Bali?

Do not plan a shoot around one. Provincial rules tell visitors to observe customs during ceremonies, and a concierge blog warns that temples can shut to shoots at those times. If filming is ever appropriate, ask the temple authority first.

Can I film inside a temple in Bali?

Not in the main or middle sacred areas as a foreign tourist, unless you are worshipping in traditional attire, under Circular 7 of 2025. A filming permit should not be read as an exemption. Ask the temple authority what it allows and get the answer in writing.

Are cameras allowed at Bali temples?

There is no single island-wide camera rule to quote. A travel blog says photography in outer courtyards is generally permitted unless a ceremony is under way, and that a priest can ask anyone to stop. Treat that as a guide to manners and not as a right.

Can I fly a drone over temples in Bali?

Tanah Lot lists drone flights among uses to report, a concierge blog says drones need separate permission, and aviation rules apply separately. These are separate questions, and passing one does not settle the other. Start with the temple's manager, then check the airspace.

Is drone flying allowed at Bali temples?

No source gives one answer for all temples. Tanah Lot lists drone flights among the uses to report to its management, and a concierge blog says drones need separate permission. Uluwatu and Besakih publish no drone rules on their main pages.

Do I need a permit for a Tanah Lot photoshoot?

If it is commercial, expect to report to the management first, as its ticket page asks of photo sessions and shooting. The page publishes no fee for those uses, so ask for one in writing before you book the crew.

Which sources support this page?

• Hoodlum: film production services in Bali
• Bali Tourism Office: Circular 7 of 2025 on visitor conduct
• Love Bali: travel guidelines
• Your Happiness Tours: photography rules at Bali temples
• Tanah Lot official site
• Uluwatu Temple official site
• Wikipedia: Uluwatu Temple
• Besakih official site
• Wikipedia: Mount Agung
• SNXP Studio: how to get a film permit in Indonesia
• Tanah Lot official site: ticket page
• Bali Bliss Concierge: pre-wedding photo permits in Bali

How do I reach the desk?

Tell the desk which temples you have in mind, what you want to show, your crew size and dates. It cannot give consent on a temple's behalf, and it will not suggest that a particular site will say yes. Requests may lead to a paid booking, so we have a stake in them, as the about page sets out. An offer counts only when it is in writing, with the fee and contracting company stated. WhatsApp 6281139414563 or bd@juaraholding.com.