Mount Batur Sunrise Trek, Bali, Indonesia
If you have been following us for a while, you should know by now that we are the most unprepared hikers you will probably find out there!
And now you are probably wondering: why am I reading an article regarding hiking from them, then? And our answer is simple: EXACTLY BECAUSE OF THAT! From hiking a mountain with flip flops, to wearing jeans and carrying all our tech equipment with us, we did it all.
Mount Batur still is one of the most famous sights in Bali and it truly deserves all those praises! If you are considering to hike Mount Batur on your next visit to Bali, keep reading for all our tips and recommendations that will make your experience a lot better!
Why Should I Visit mount batur? Is it worth it?
Mount Batur is an active volcano located on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Rising 1,717 meters above sea level, Mount Batur offers breathtaking views with a reasonably easy hike, which makes it the most popular hike in Bali.
This UNESCO heritage site sees around 800 hikers a day, most of them looking for the unique sunrise from its top (if not cloudy!) as well as views over Lombok island and Mount Agung, another volcano on the island. The hike is totally worth it if you are looking for an amazing experience and connection with nature while you test your endurance and resilience! We would do it over and over again!
Is it safe to climb Mount Batur?
Determining whether climbing Mount Batur is safe or not depends on several factors.
Firstly, it is important to assess your fitness level as explained above. Additionally, it is important to check the weather conditions as it will determine what you should wear or even if your experience needs to be postponed as unfavourable weather conditions may pose further risks. For all the above, we strongly recommend you join an organised tour with an experienced guide, who ensure proper safety measures and provides adequate equipment.
Mount Batur is an active volcano but an unexpected eruption is not predicted - its last eruption was in 2000 - but your local guide will know everything about this natural beauty.
How easy is it to climb Mount Batur?
This is a hard question to answer, but let’s try.
Your personal experience will highly depend on your individual fitness level, however if you are relatively fit you will be able to get to the top of the volcano within 2 hours. Most people find it fairly easy and we could see people from all age groups and body types - which is why Mount Batur is such a popular climb in Bali!
However, we could see a lot of people struggling on the way and a few experiencing what we could identify as panic attacks. One important thing to say is that you should always take in consideration your general health status and if you suffer from any respiratory disorder, we would strongly discourage this experience. One of the girls on our group needed to use a motorbike to take her to the top when we were at 30% of our journey, because she suffers from asthma and she was finding it hard to breathe due to all the dust - the terrain is quite sandy. There are a lot of locals offering to take you to the top of the volcano by motorbike but be ready to pay a lot for that - we saw people paying 350K Indonesian Rupiahs (we paid less than that to come from Ubud!).
The descent is fairly easier but be prepared to put a lot of pressure on your knees. There are a few tricky and slippery parts of the trail, so make sure you save up some energy for your way down. Coming down will take you between 1-1.5 hours.
If you are not sure whether you should go all in, you can consider the Caldera Trek or a Jeep ride instead!
Do I need a guide?
This is the easiest answer: YES!
The mountain seems to be controlled by the local guide association and some travellers have reported being verbally assaulted when attempting to climb Mount Batur on their own. This is actually one of the things we don’t like about Bali, as this is their way of ensuring the locals can benefit from the tourism in the region. Despite this, we strongly recommend you join a guided tour to ensure your own safety.
You can book yours here!
What Should I wear and What should I pack?
Ideally you should wear sporting clothes - including either shorts or long trousers as well as a tshirt or long sleeve shirt. Just be mindful that you will start your way up at around 3:30h in the morning and despite being quite cold, you will definitely get warm and sweaty. But once you get to the top of the mounts, it gets quiet chilly and we would recommend you take a raincoat or a jumper.
Apart from clothing, we would suggest these essentials: bottle of water, sunscreen, sunglasses and your photo/video equipment - we regret not taking our drone! Consider taking some light snacks as you will need all the energy boost you can get. Take some cash with you in case you need to buy any hot drink, souvenirs or in case of an unforeseen circumstance.
Travel Insurance
We really want to believe that everyone travelling to Indonesia has a comprehensive travel insurance as travelling always poses some ordinary risks and the last thing you should want is to become ill or suffer an injury in the other side of the World without a proper insurance. TRAVEL INSURANCE IS MANDATORY!
If you are considering hiking Mount Batur, please make sure you follow all the safety measures instructed and you have with you your travel insurance details should you need it. It is a safe experience and we have never felt unsafe, but remember: it is always better safe than sorry!
If you are looking for travel insurance for your trip to Indonesia, we would recommend IATI , which is the company we use when travelling. As our reader you will get 5% off your travel insurance!
Our Experience
We had the opportunity to collaborate with Get Your Guide and we were offered this experience - which we couldn’t recommend more. You can buy your tickets here and for 30€ you will have an experience you will cherish forever.
You can buy your tickets with hotel pick up and drop off in case you are staying away from mount Batur. We chose to travel from Ubud the day before so we could stay closer to Mount Batur area. We stayed one night at Batur Homestay & Lodge which was 25 min away (walking distance) from the Get Your Guide meeting point so we only needed to be there by 3:30h. Please note that if you are staying in areas like Seminyak, Canggu or Ubud, you will probably need to be picked up at around 1:30h/2h in the morning.
At around 3am, Wang, the property manager took us to the meeting point where we were greeted with hot drinks and some biscuits to build up our strength before the adventure started. Then we met our guide who gave us a walking stick and a head torch as it was extremely dar - we couldn’t feel safer with him. In a group of 5 off we went!
The first 30% of the hike are quite easy and the terrain not that challenging, however from there it starts to be quite steep and sandy and that’s exactly when the challenge starts. We were wearing shorts, a shirt and a raincoat but as soon as we started walking we needed to get rid of the raincoat. Please make sure you take some warm clothes as the temperature at the top drops drastically and you will probably be waiting for the sunrise for around 45 mins.
Once we got up there we were offered breakfast - a boiled egg, a sandwich with steamed banana, a mandarin and a chocolate bar - and we got the chance to know our fellow hikers. The best part of travelling the world is definitely the people you meet along the way!
In no time, the moment we were all waiting for arrived - the sun started makings its entrance! And let us tell you: WHAT A SHOW! The insane views, the unique atmosphere and the guides playing guitar and singing in the background made the whole experience even more magical and peaceful.
We took some time to appreciate this natural beauty and to let the universe know how grateful we are for having this opportunity. We took pictures and we walked a little bit around the crater from where you can still see some steam coming from the soil - daah, it’s an active volcano.
It took us around 1h to get back to the Get Your Guide meeting point and to call it a day!
Despite being a physical and mental challenge, hiking revealed the depths of our resilience and strength. And that’s why we love it so much!
We started small by claiming the top of a small mount at Peneda-Geres National Park and by getting to the top of Cheile Turzii in Romania to finally get to the top of an active volcano in Indonesia - Mount Batur - at impressive 1700 meters high!
With each step, we proved to ourselves that we are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for and the sense of empowerment is indescribable. Are you a fan of hiking?
