It's one of the most popular activities in Bali - the hike up Mount Batur. I have also joined in and tell you here what you should look out for.
What is mount batur?
The 1717m high Mount Batur is an active volcano in the northeast of Bali. It is part of the BATUR UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK, which offers not only unique geographical but also cultural features and is therefore a place of learning for young and old. Mount Batur is located in the center of two calderas. Next to it is the beautiful crater lake Danau Batur. Southeast of Mount Batur is the 2159m high Gunung Abang. About 20km away is Bali's highest volcano - Mount Agung.
Mount Batur last erupted in 2000. During a larger eruption in 1926, large parts of the Batur village were destroyed by the lava flow. As a result, you can now observe a petrified volcanic landscape here. The area is freely accessible and can be explored either on foot or by jeep. I found it very interesting to observe how plants are already starting to grow again in many places and how nature is reclaiming the place.
The most famous village right at the foot of the volcano is Kintamani. Most of the tours to climb the volcano start from here.
The mount batur sunrise trekking
Every hostel, homestay or hotel in Kintamani offers the sunrise trekking tour on Mount Batur. I strongly recommend that you do not climb the volcano without a tour guide, as the mafia here is very strict about stopping any tourists who try to do so. Due to the high popularity with tourists, the tours are a very large source of income for the villages in the area, which is why the mafia prevents independent hiking.
Most tours start at around 2 a.m. and begin with a small snack and tea or coffee in a local restaurant. Many of the accommodations take you directly to the foot of the volcano by jeep or sometimes a little way up. The ascent takes place with a guide and a small group. It takes around 1.5 hours to reach the top. The paths are very narrow and every group goes the same way, which is why it feels a bit like a mass hike. In high season, several hundred people may hike the volcano at the same time. The feeling of an idyllic hike in nature is therefore somewhat overshadowed. Once you reach the top, you can watch the sunrise. If the weather is fine and there are few clouds, it is truly breathtaking - but if it is too cloudy, you may unfortunately not be able to see anything at all. The tour guide brings tea and a small breakfast up the mountain, which you can then enjoy at sunrise. However, the main spots are accordingly full and you will also find monkeys ready to steal some food. Afterwards, it's mostly the same way back downhill to the village. The jeep will be waiting for you to take you back to your accommodation.
We booked our tour through a small hostel called Bunbulan Hill Hostel, which offered a slightly longer and more private tour - and I can tell you that I am very grateful that we booked this tour. We weren't driven to the mountain in a jeep, but walked the whole way ourselves, which I personally preferred - because if I'm going to hike up a volcano, I want to do it all by myself and without a jeep driving me part of the way. Our group consisted of just three people and our very nice tour guide. We walked to the top of the mountain the same way as everyone else - and I can tell you that it was unfortunately so crowded that there was even a bit of a traffic jam at some point. Once we reached the top, however, we didn't go where everyone else had gone, but walked a little further. It was much emptier here and we were able to watch the crowds and the monkeys from afar.
Another difference to the other tours is that we descended the volcano on the other side instead of going back down the same way. This allowed us to see the other side again, which is characterized by completely different views and paths. My highlight was that we cooked our breakfast using the heat from the volcano. Our tour guide dug a hole in the ground so that it started to smoke, which made me realize once again that the volcano is active and that it is extremely hot under the surface. We then placed raw eggs and bananas in the hole and covered them with grass. After about 20 minutes, the eggs were cooked and the bananas were soft. This was incredibly fascinating for me to watch! We then descended further down the mountain and finished our hike in the petrified ash dome. Here the owner of the hostel picked us up in his jeep and drove us around a bit. The cost of the tour was IDR 600,000, which is about 35 EUR per person.
My conclusion
This hike was a truly unique experience for me! I'd never been anywhere near a volcano before, which is why I found everything particularly fascinating. As I'm not in very good shape, the climb was a bit challenging for me at times, but definitely doable. My problem here was more that I have a very sensitive stomach and was struggling with severe nausea due to the snacks before the start of the tour. The moment when I finally reached the top of the volcano felt all the more special. The view is truly unique and we were also extremely lucky with our sunrise.
The whole hike is definitely very touristy, but thanks to our tour guide, we avoided the crowds very well, so they didn't bother me at all. As the hike is not too demanding and in my opinion suitable for everyone, I would definitely recommend putting Mount Batur on your to-do list for Bali! There are also tours from Ubud, for example. Here you will be driven from Ubud to Kintamani at night and join one of the groups. However, as Kintamani offers very beautiful surroundings and other activities, such as hot springs, I would definitely recommend a stay here. It's also less stressful than having to sit in the car for a while before and after the hike.
My tip: make sure you bring long clothes and a cap with you! It's really cold and windy at the top. But also don't underestimate the power of the sun for the descent, which is why I recommend a cap or something similar to avoid headaches.
In my opinion, the price is quite high at 600,000 IDR, but it was definitely worth it! You shouldn't underestimate the time and physical effort of the tour guides.
Let me know in the comments if you have any experiences or other tips for that sunrise trekking! I look forward to your feedback.
Love, Shirley
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