The Hike of My Life: Mt. Batur

I have woken up at 2am many times in my life– usually, it’s to catch an early morning flight. This time, however, I was getting up at 2am for a sunrise hike up Mt. Batur in Bali. I had no idea what I was in for but I was excited, tired and ready for this incredible adventure.

Mount Batur is an active volcano that can be found in Batur Village in the Kintamani District in Bali, Indonesia. It’s located 1717m above sea-level and usually takes about 2 hours to reach the top by physically fit individuals. I highly recommend doing this hike at sunrise for the stunning views. You won’t believe your eyes!

The shuttle picked us up right at our hostel and proceeded to take us to a restaurant for a 3am breakfast. Unfortunately, it was not gluten free so there was no breaky for me. Then we piled back into the shuttle and drove about 45 minutes to the base of the mountain. As I stood outside in the pitch black light of the early morning I realized how chilly it was but I warmed up real quick.

Our guide, Bagawata was young, full of energy and extremely knowledgeable. It’s important to note that it’s prohibited to hike the mountain without a guide. There are plenty of guides and tours set up– we loved ours because of the small size (there were only 7 of us). We begun our hike up the mountain with Bagawata in the pitch black, only with the light of small flashlights. It was disorienting hiking in the pitch black but it was also really cool! Near the beginning of our hike, our guide stopped to talk to us about the mountain. It’s very sacred land to the Balinese people and there were some basic rules of respect that he asked us to follow. It was important to under no circumstance litter or leave garbage behind and to avoid cursing at all costs. He taught us a blessing that we could recite to show our respect for the land. This little talk was extremely interesting and gave us all some wonderful insight about the culture.

Our group was comprised of young, athletic adults and therefore we were cruising along at an incredibly fast past. We quite literally flew past other groups of hikers but the hike itself was gruelling. While it wasn’t a super long hike– it was pretty much straight up, entirely up the side of this mountain. It was one of the hardest things I’ve done– trust me we were cooking. In the darkness of the early morning all I could think about was putting one foot in front of the other. Many of us ran out of water quite early on (oops) and our clothes were drenched in sweat. By the time we made it to the top our guide said we made it up 30 minutes faster than normal to give you a little perspective. Reaching the summit of that mountain was one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. We were all above the clouds, watching the sunrise and night time disappear. It was the highlight of the entire trip for me but also one of the best experiences of my life. Witnessing the beauty of the world around us will never get old.

We stayed at the top for a solid amount of time just taking it all in. Our guide brought a guitar and serenaded us with some songs as we watched the sun rise in awe. We took photos and chatted. Don’t forget to bring layers because the top is much colder plus all of your sweat dries! Chilly! Our guide took us on a tour to see some of the giant craters, views from different sides of the mountain. We walked a lot and even saw some monkeys!

The hike back down was almost harder because it was so steep and hard on the knees. But we did it! This was an experience I will never forget. It was the toughest hike I’ve ever done and I’m so grateful seen that part of Bali.

When’s the last time you saw a sunrise? It doesn’t have to be from the top of a mountain but I promise it will give you some perspective. Our planet is beautiful.

xoxo,
linds

Check out the next leg of the adventure: Ubud