Amlapura's water loving rajah, having contructed his masterpiece at Ujung, later had another go at Tirtagangga. This water palace, built around 1947, was damaged in the 1963 eruption of Agung and during the political events that wracked Indonesia two years later. it's not grand, but it's still a place of beauty and a reminder of the power the Balinese rajahs once had. The palace has a swimming pool as well as the ornamental ponds.

The riceterraces around Tirtagangga are reputed to be some of the most beautiful on Bali. They sweep out from Tirtagangga almost like a sea surrounding an island. Note how some of the terraces are faced with stones. A few km beyond here, on the road the east coast, there are more dramaticcally beautiful terraces, often seen in photographs of Bali. This is one of the most traditional areas on Bali. Quite a few of the villages have special or unique attractions. There are Buddhist communities near budakling, and traditional goldsmiths, painters, carvers, and so on. Some of the dances and ceremonies are found nowhere else on Bali, and have links with Lombok which was ruled from Karangasem for many years.

Soon after leaving Tirtagangga, the road stats to climb. Look for the sign to Pura Lempuyang. one of Bali nine directional temples, perched on a hilltop at 768 metres.Futher on, the main road climbs over asmall range of hills and descends past some of the most spectacular rice terraces on Bali. They're the last rice paddies for some distance, however, for the east coast is relatively dry and barren, in a rain shadow behind the big mountains. The road gets back down towards sea level at Culik where there's a turn off to Amed and the road round Bali's south east corner.The main road goes north to Tulamben and continues round the east coast to Singaraja. The main feature of this route is the superb view of Gunung Agung.