No matter where in Bali you are staying, doing a Mount Batur sunrise trekking tour is a must. The two-hour hike up the volcano in the middle of the night is truly an experience you will never forget. It’s a truly magical way to spend a morning in Mount Batur in Bali, Indonesia. In this blog post, I will share our experience and give you all the details you need to know before your Mount Batur sunrise trek.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SEE MOUNT BATUR IN BALI
Booking a Mount Batur tour is the best way to go and you will have your own guide. The Mount Batur trekking tours are inexpensive and well worth the memories you will get in return. All up we paid $150 USD for three people, which included the tour, breakfast, and private transportation to and from Mount Batur to your hotel.
WHERE IS MOUNT BATUR IN BALI
Mount Batur Volcano is located in the north of Bali in the District of Kintamani. It took us just over a 1-hour drive from Sanur and is about a 2-hour drive from Seminyak/Canggu, and around 1-hour from Ubud. Mount Batur is also known as Gunung Batur, along with Mount Agung it’s one of the most active volcanos in Bali.
HOW TO GET TO MOUNT BATUR
The best way to get to Mount Batur is through a tour. This will include pick up from your hotel, the trek up Mount Batur with a guide, and return to your hotel. You could also make your own way there, or rent a scooter for $5-6 per day. But keep in mind it gets very cold in the early hours of the morning.
MOUNT BATUR DIFFICULTY
Mount Batur will take around two hours in total to climb up. The first 30-45 minutes is pretty flat and relatively easy. It can be quiet challenging as you get closer to the top and if your fitness is not great this will test you.
If you don’t think your fitness is up to it you can take a motorbike. It will take you almost the whole way up, and even down if you wish.
The motorbike costs extra if you wish to take it up it costs 350,000 IDR ($24.71 USD). There are plenty of motorbike taxis and the will be riding by and asking you if you want to take the bike up.
The entire hike up and down took us around 5-6 hours but we took lots of time taking breaks and stops for photos.
OUR MOUNT BATUR SUNRISE TREKKING EXPERIENCE
At 145 am we got picked up from our hotel in Sanur. We took a private car so it was just us and we didn’t have to go around to a bunch of different hotels picking up people like other tours. It only took us one hour to arrive at the jump-off point as there is no traffic at this time in the morning. We assembled here and was offered pancakes with coffee and tea.
After that, we got driven up to the start of the trek where we had a briefing and got offered to rent jackets because it gets really called at the top before the sun comes up.
We then set off into the dark with flashlights and our guide around 4 am. It was really cold and most people are wearing long pants and jackets.
The first 30-minutes of the hike is pretty easy as you are just making your way past the houses and there are a few small temples you will pass. Usually, around two hundred people will set out to climb Mount Batur each day. Most people are usually going around the same speed so you don’t really realize how many people there are until you get to the top.
My boy Jordan found the trek pretty hard so I paid for a motorbike taxi to take him the rest of the way. They dropped him 90% of the way where he waited for us to arrive about 45 minutes later.
We made it the summit just before sunrise and got to witness the beginning of the Mount Batur Sunrise.
There are a lot of benches you can relax and take in the sights. Our guide prepared our breakfast for us while we took in the view. Banana sandwiches and boiled eggs were on the menu, and you can also purchase coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. The breakfast is prepared in a small kitchen hut, but not all tours offer the breakfast as we had.
The sunrise was stunning and worth the trek up Mount Batur it’s self but the best was still yet to come. As the sun comes up you can also witness Mount Agung and Mount Rinjani.
Once we finished breakfast we made our way to the top of the volcano to see the steam. The steam from the volcano is really warm and you can actually burn yourself if you get too close. This was the highlight of the trip for me getting into the volcano and having the steam all around you.
From there we walked along the edge of the volcano that made for some really nice photos before we started the trek back down.
Going down is so much easier and we briefly stopped to take in the views of Lake Batur. From there we walked two hours back to the parking lot for the long drive home. We arrived back in Sanur around 11 am.
Mount Batur sunrise trek was an experience that we will never forget, the incredible adventure was well worth it. No wonder why this is one of the most popular tours in Bali.