Mount Batur, Bali Hiking Information
There are several different volcano climbing options in this area. The sunrise trekking tour to Mount Batur costs $65. Your $65 package includes transportation to and from Lakeview Hotel, the climb, guides, headlamps, breakfast and lunch at the hot springs after the climb. You begin climbing up from Jali temple at the edge of Lake Batur at 4:00 a.m. Mt. Batur is set 1,717m/5,633' above sea level and is an active, volcanic mountain. It first erupted in 1917, followed by a second eruption in 1926, which left a huge crater at the top with a few hot spots steaming. The round trip takes about 5 hours and the first eruption eons ago left a crater 14km/8 miles across. The current Mount Batur is the newer volcano within a volcano and dark lava covers parts of the area from recent eruptions.
An unusual part of the trek is breakfast on Mount Batur where they cook eggs in volcanic steam and then serve. "Eggs a la sulphur."
You can also arrange a Mount Agung trekking tour, a holy mountain. Mount Agung last erupted in 1963. A violent and destructive eruption, it destroyed three quarters of Amiapura in East Bali. It is the highest and most sacred mountain in Bali, at 3,142m/10,308'. Before climbing to the top, you stop to pray at Besakih if beginning from there at 11:30pm, or Pasar Agung if beginning from there at 1:30 a.m. The round trip takes around nine hours and If the morning is clear, you can see almost the entire island of Bali, Mount Rinjani in Lombok and Mount Abang (next to Mount Batur).
The group decided to climb Mount Abang instead of Mount Batur tomorrow even though Ian had never climbed it before. Mount Abang, 2,152m/7,060', is the highest point on Batur's outer crater and is considered "demanding." Neither of these options appealed to us (volcano hiking with all the scree involved is not our favorite thing) but there was still a third option for those who wished. It was possible to go and soak in the hot spring for $25. A pass on that also along with a few others in the group. We'd just watch the sunrise from our rooms, eat a leisurely breakfast and wait for the departure to the fishing village of Padangbai, the last stop of this trip, and surrounded by lovely beaches.
The nitty-gritty related by the group on the Mount Abang hike/trek was that it was very difficult, hard to find the narrow trails, lots of vegetation on the way and they missed the sunrise because as Marianne said, "The guide kept saying go faster, go faster or you'll miss the sunrise! I wasn't going to go any faster and fall off the mountain when I couldn't see where I was going." This hard hike took 2-1/2 hrs up, 2 hours down and they were all exhausted.
