Mount Batur Volcano Sunrise Trekking

The secret behind the best ‘good morning’ is to stare at the sun flushing golden streaks of light from the East and then staining the scrapes of clouds with dazzling colors. My sunrise trek to Mount Batur was one of my top hiking destinations.

Mount Batur is one of the active volcanoes in Bali–around 5,600 feet higher from the sea level and dwarfed by Mount Agung standing taller on the next. It is located in Northern Bali in the Kintamani District–around a one-hour drive from Ubud.

Getting to Mount Batur

In December 2019, my husband and I booked a two weeks itinerary in Bali. We booked the Mount Batur sunrise trek from our villa “Capung Cottage” in Ubud for IDR 4,00,000 per person. They offered us a shared guided trekking package with three people, which was more budget-friendly than private tours. We started our Mount Batur hiking tour at 2 am night from the hotel and drove up to the breakfast point in 30 minutes. While we were perspiring in the sultry climate and the cacophony of city traffic, the drive to the base camp was chilling cold giving me goosebumps with every twist and turn. We had a 30 minute complimentary breakfast-break, where we had hot Balinese tea/coffee and banana pancake. While the chilled winds were giving me goose bumps, every sip of hot tea led me to the world of quiet contemplation and the banana-pancake with a dressing of hot chocolate was unexpectedly sumptuous. After we finished the breakfast, we drove up to the base camp at 3 am. Here we assembled, organized our gears, and we were assigned an English-speaking guide. He gave a quick briefing before we set off in the dark and provided us flashlights.

How difficult is the trek?

The first half an hour was relatively flat for a volcano trek. We found small vegetable farms across the roadside. The trail was crowded with many tourist groups. We leapfrogged past each other multiple times– either they stopped for rest and we passed
them by or we halted to relax our breathing and they climbed past us. Our guide was smart enough to bypass the crowd on the way. This part was quite deceiving as we ascended up the paved roadside hill. The trail gets quite steeper and is filled with small pebbles and the remnants of lava stones making it slippery. We strongly recommend to watch out for the weather forecast before you start planning for Bali sunrise hike. We don’t recommend for volcano trekking Bali in rainy seasons. As soon as we gained the altitude, the trail narrowed and became steeper offering more vertical switchbacks.

The Half-point

After 1 hour, we reached the half-point, where we took a small break at the temple. The place was filled with small huts and shops, where local Balinese people sell food, fruits, water, and beverages. Here, they also provide motorbike facility to get to the summit, which costs around IDR 3,00,000. After we relaxed our calves and thighs at the half-point for a while, we struggled to power through the rest part of the hiking but walking over the volcanic ash is utterly frustrating as we take one step forward and fall half-way down. So, after a series of shortness of breath and frequent questions of ‘are we there yet’, we made the final ascent towards the summit in 2 hours and all our fatigue vanished as soon as we embraced the serenity of sunrise.

The sunrise from Volcano

Meanwhile, the sky started to show the red color like blood seeping up all of a sudden reaches flaring plane wise. Thankfully, we made it just in time to witness the beginning of the Mount Batur sunrise. My husband set up the camera to capture this paradisiacal view from the top. All our fatigue evaporated as the sunbeams drained up into the sky at the edge of the volcano like until it cleared the last trace of darkness. Underneath us, the swirling clouds were floating like some gigantic flamingo while the sun with molten red rim pushed itself over Mount Batur. The gentle whispering wind peaked out from its hiding-place among the hollows of the volcano, wandered in the rustling trees, waking our tiredness to the fresh dawn. We were distracted by lots of monkeys hanging around the summit. Our guide alerted us to keep a watchful eye over our belongings. While my husband was too careful to set aside his camera and other auxiliary gadgets from their mischievous vigilance, one of these miscreants took off two packets of tissue papers from his bag.

Climbing down the volcano

The most difficult part was climbing down the volcanic rock. We followed a crumbly ridge around the edge of volcano sliding our way down. We skidded and slithered many times over the loose ground stones. The narrow ridge, loose ground stones, and
slippery trail soon crumbled our romanticism. Add to the struggle, we were sweating profusely as the sun was up. Our guide led us to the places, where we saw how hot smoke is still creeping out of the volcano. Although it was incredibly scenic, the narrow ridge, loose ground stones, and slippery trail soon crumbled our romanticism. After 1 or 1.5 hours, we came back to the half-point, and had a clear and beautiful view of the idyllic Balinese temple in the lap of volcano, which was shadowed into darkness while climbing up. In short, we still relive that day with tokens of memories, shared breakfast and new friendships while admiring the spectacular sunrise.

Important tips for the trek

- Wear full pants and jacket to protect your limbs from long fauna and rocks.

- Dress in layers, so that you can adjust your clothes as per the need. It is usually cold and windy at the summit, but gets warmer when the sun rises and while you scramble down.