Mt. Batur Sunrise Trek
As we arrived in Bali, we met with a lot of other backpackers and tourist who had hiked the volcano, but we heard mixed reviews on this sunrise trek. We were in Bali for an entire month so we had a few days to play. Our expectations were not high when we stared just because of the mixed reviews but oh my goodness, WE ARE SO THANKFUL WE DID THIS TREK!
Booking your tour
You will want to book your tour when you are staying in Ubud and you will be able to find excursion booths/stores along the main roads in Ubud. Make sure that you are always comparing prices with other tour companies to get the best experience and price as possible. Also ask how big the tour group is. If it is more than 8-10 people, try to stay away from them. Mt. Batur is about 2 hours away, so, making sure you are one of the first people on the road is really beneficial. You don't want to be stuck in Ubud still trying to pick everyone up since there are so many of you in the group.
Starting your tour
This tour starts EARLY! Early meaning around 2:30 AM. Due to it being so early in the morning, the driver picks everyone up at their hotel so that you don't have to find a way around the village too early in the morning. (Again, this is why its important to not have a big tour group). Once everyone is in the van your start the 2 hour road trip to the base of Mt. Batur. Most people from other tour groups said they slept on the way, but unfortunatly our entire tour didn't though.
* Personal Experience * This is not an exaggeration, everyone in our tour felt like were going to die. Ian and I have had our fair share of the way people drive in Southeast Asia, let alone any foreign country, but this was by far the scariest moment traveling. Our entire group turned around and mumble to see if we all agree to ask him to slow down. As we were all panning our kind approach of asking him to slow down, OUR TOUR GUIDE stepped in and had to tell him, even he was scared (A freaking LOCAL). Moral of this story, he was a scary driver and if you ever find yourself in that same situation DO NOT be afraid to ask. We had to have been going 60-70 MPH on this little road with a drop off on either side. It's your life, don't be afraid to protect it.
Halfway through the drive we stopped at a little shop where we could buy snacks and they provided us with coffee or tea, water and a breakfast box to eat when we got to the top. The breakfast box was a piece of bread, a hard boiled egg and a banana. We defiently recommend bringing your own snacks or bars to keep you energized because the breakfast was not enough for us.
the trek to Mt. Batur
We arrived to the base of Mt. Batur around 4-4:15. We got out and used the restroom before starting the trek to the top. It is pitch black during most of your hike so make sure you get a tour guide that provides flashlights but I wish that we had a head light instead of holding a flashlight for that long. Personally, I am afraid of heights and was incredibly thankful that it was darker for the assent or else I might not have finished. The climb is steep towards the end and becomes very loose gravel and dirt. Once you get to the top, we got to whip open our breakfast box and sit and wait.
You will feel like you are sitting on top of clouds and then they start to disappear and the colors that start to appear are so unreal!! It was not only exciting but the entire crowd of people start cheering when the clouds start to uncover the other mountains. It makes every step worth it.
You have the option to stay behind at this point in your tour, as your tour guide will take you up even higher to walk around the crater of Mt. Batur where you will see steam coming from super active parts of the volcano. Being scared of heights made this one hard but it was so amazing!
There is also an area of the hike that will have signs showing how high you are and monkeys will be around everywhere!! Just remember they are wild animals.
