Mount Batur climb
Set off around 3am to reach the summit at sunrise, above the sea of clouds. A guide is compulsory on the Indonesian side.
Duration
4 hrs – 6 hrs
Difficulty
●●●●○
Best time
Set off around 3am
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
Batur is an active volcano of 1,717 metres, standing inside a caldera whose floor holds a lake. The climb takes two hours from the trailhead, over ash and scoria that slide underfoot.
You set off around three in the morning to be at the top before dawn: at that hour a sea of cloud fills the caldera and Mount Agung, higher still, rises out of it in the distance. A guide is compulsory on the Indonesian side, and the local association holds the monopoly.
Getting there
Two hours by road from Ubud, more from the south: pick-up is around one in the morning. The advertised price rarely includes breakfast at the top.
What the price covers
climb with a licensed guide, compulsory on the Indonesian side. The local guides' association holds the monopoly and publishes no scale: the price is negotiated, and neither breakfast at the summit nor the access fee is usually included in the figure quoted.
What to bring
- Walking shoes
- Headlamp
- Windbreaker
- 1.5 L of water
How to pay less
Booking with a guide from Kintamani rather than in Ubud cuts out two middlemen and the transfer billed at full price.
Rules on site
It is between 5 and 10°C at the top before sunrise, after a sweaty climb: a fleece changes everything. A head torch is essential — a phone is not enough on the ash.
Other places in Bali
- Tanah LotA temple on a rock that the high tide cuts off from the coast, facing the sunset.
- Uluwatu TempleSet on a seventy-metre cliff, above the Indian Ocean.
- Tirta EmpulThe purification pools where Balinese pass under thirteen spouts, as they have since the tenth century.
- Surfing at UluwatuA powerful reef break for experienced surfers only. The reef does not forgive: booties recommended.