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Mount Batur Sunrise Hike: Everything You Need To Know

Mount Batur Sunrise Hike: Everything You Need To Know

If you’re an adventurous traveler visiting Bali, a sunrise trek up Mount Batur should be on your bucket list. Located in the Kintamani district of Bali, Mount Batur is an active volcano that is one of the best (but most challenging) sunrise hikes on the island. The Mount Batur hike to the summit takes around 2-3 hours and rewards hikers with stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and Lake Batur.

MOUNT BATUR HIKE: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the experience of hiking Mount Batur at sunrise, including what to expect, what to bring, and how to make the most of your trek. So, get ready to lace up your hiking boots and witness a sunrise like no other on Mount Batur.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT MOUNT BATUR

  1. Mount Batur is an active volcano located in the Kintamani district of Bali, Indonesia. It stands at 1,717 meters (5,633 feet) above sea level.
  2. The most popular activity on Mount Batur is the sunrise trek, where hikers ascend to the summit in the early hours of the morning to watch the sunrise over the surrounding landscape.
  3. Mount Batur has erupted several times in the past, with the most recent eruption occurring in 2000. Despite being an active volcano, it is considered relatively safe for hiking and tourism.
  4. There are three main craters at the summit of Mount Batur, with the largest and most recent one being formed in 1917. The other two craters are older and no longer active.
  5. Mount Batur is located in the Bali Volcanic Belt, which is a series of active and dormant volcanoes that stretch across the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok. The Bali Volcanic Belt is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region known for its frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.

BEST MOUNT BATUR MOUNTAIN GUIDE

If you are looking for a reliable and organized tour guide for the Mount Batur hike that includes pick-up and drop-off this is the tour I suggest from GetYourGuide: Mount Batur Sunrise Trek

There is one slightly cheaper tour but the one I have mentioned here takes you to a natural hot spring after, which is an awesome way to recover the legs and wash off the dust from the volcano trek.

a man sitting on top of a mountain at sunset.

Batur Sunrise Trek

  • Transfers Included
  • Breakfast Included
  • Hot Springs Visit

GetYourGuide has hundreds of reviews and a good track record of picking you up on time, providing experienced guides, and helping you reach the summit. They also include a free breakfast!

Book Now: Mount Batur Bali Sunrise Tour

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WHERE IS MOUNT BATUR VOLCANO

Mount Batur Volcano is in the north of Bali in the Kintamani District. It is about a 2-hour drive from Canggu/Seminyak and about one hour from Ubud. Mount Batur’s height is 5,600 feet above sea level, which is 1,707m of altitude. Also known as Gunung Batur, it is one of the most active volcanoes in Bali along with Mount Agung, which is visible from the summit.

BEST TIME TO TREK/ WEATHER

Bali is a paradise island but it can also be a very wet island. It’s best to plan your Mount Batur hike for sunrise during the dry season, which is roughly starting in May until September. That isn’t a hard and fast rule and don’t feel like you can’t visit Mount Batur outside of those months but that is the optimal period. It isn’t necessarily going to be dangerous if wet, it is more so that you might have more clouds and rain at the summit where you are trying to enjoy the beautiful sunrise!

It can get quite cold on the trek so bring a warm jacket but layer up as once the sun has risen it will be hot. A big tip is to bring an extra t-shirt so when you get to the top you can switch out your sweaty shirt and replace it with a dry and warm one. This will help keep you warm in the wind at the top.

MOUNT BATUR DIFFICULTY

Mount Batur is quite short. The first half an hour is relatively flat for a volcano trek. It does get quite steep for about 45 minutes and some people struggled a bit but for the most part, it is a moderate trek. If you take lots of breaks it is quite a moderate trek.

You can take a motorbike almost the whole way to the summit but it definitely isn’t necessary. It’s a volcano hike for the non-hikers and much easier compared to the quad-burning Mount Rinjani on Lombok.

The entire hike took us around 5 hours but we took an insane amount of photos and stops. You could really do this hike in 3-4 hours without rushing. 

MOUNT BATUR HIKE ELEVATION GAIN

The Mount Batur hike elevation gain is approximately 500 meters in total gain, which is 1,650 feet.

MY MOUNT BATUR SUNRISE TREKKING EXPERIENCE

At 130 am I met the crew in Canggu and we sleepily bundled into the van and headed towards Ubud to pick up the rest of the group. It took us a couple of hours to reach the entrance to the hike. I think it was about 2.5 hours from Canggu until we made it to the jump-off point. Here we assembled, organized our gear, and headlamps, and had a quick briefing before we set off in the dark at around 4 am. 

It was quite cold and most people were wearing a jacket and pants but I was in shorts and took my jacket off to start the hike as I knew it wouldn’t be long before I warmed out and started sweating. A headlamp was necessary as the ground is uneven throughout the entire hike.

The first 20 minutes of the hike is pretty flat and we powered through that section in the dark before having a quick rest. The trail was pretty busy with lots of groups also making the sunrise trek. I think a few hundred people were also on the trail although most are moving at a similar pace so there aren’t too many hold-ups until near the summit. 

The second half of the trek gets quite steep and is a good morning workout. The trail turned into a series of natural steps and there were a few slips as we made the final ascent to the summit. 

The sky was now starting to show some color and we made it to the summit just in time for sunrise to witness the beginning of the Mount Batur Sunrise. At the summit, there are lots of benches and huts.

It’s quite a set-up and not very natural at all but at least it is organized. That doesn’t mean it is clean. The litter on Mount Batur was pretty insane and we were actually up there doing a cleanup and collected 25 huge sacks of trash.

The sunrise turned out to be beautiful. We had a strong layer of clouds below us with Mount Agung peaking out over them and we could even see across to Mount Rinjani. As the sun came up, the layer of clouds turned yellow, orange, and red and Mount Batur slowly took some light as well.

It was all over pretty quickly but it was a sunrise to remember. I love being above clouds for sunrises and sunsets and they are always interesting.

We had hot chocolate at the summit and depending on your tour, some people had a basic breakfast prepared in small kitchen huts. Lots of monkeys hang around the summit for the scraps but they are quite friendly compared to the monkeys at the Ubud Monkey Forest Sanctuary.

The nice part about the hike was that we actually took a different route down and it was incredibly scenic. We followed a crumbly ridge around the edge of Mount Batur sliding our way down. After about thirty minutes we left the ridge and came to a beautiful view of the idyllic Lake Batur.

It doesn’t seem like the Bali we know and is almost a forest atmosphere. I almost forgot I was on a tropical island for a little bit.

From this viewpoint, we headed down the switchbacks until we made it back to the parking lot for the long, tired drive home. We arrived back in Canggu just after midday.

Mount Batur sunrise trek was an incredible adventure and for something that only takes a morning, it’s no wonder the expedition is one of the most popular tours in Bali.

premal

Thursday 1st of February 2024

thanks for sharing this wonderful info

Nono

Sunday 19th of February 2023

Loved this and am wanting to do this hike while in Bali but I noticed the tour company requires 2 people. Do you happen to know if there are other companies similar to Four Elements ?

Mount Batur Trekking

Saturday 1st of June 2019

Lot of monkeys on the top mount batur.

Looking for cheap package hiking mount batur? https://floreskomodotour.com/bali-packages/mount-batur-sunrise-trekking.php

surabaya tour agent

Sunday 19th of May 2019

i like this :)

monkey monkey haha

Sharon Rausch

Thursday 16th of May 2019

I can hear good sound thank you so much for sharing nice post.