Mt Batur is one of Indonesia’s many active volcanoes. And we climbed it!
This is definitely an activity I will always remember and be proud of, even though, to be completely honest, it wasn’t that hard.
We climbed up Mt Batur at 3.30am, so we could catch the sunrise, and climbing up a volcano, which is active, in the dark, was pretty damn exciting. We were given torches and brownies and then had to begin our trek. We started off on a little pathway through a woodland, which I amused myself with by shining my torch into the dark and thinking scary thoughts (and therefore tripping over rocks and branches, as it is dark and that torch is needed for seeing.) That took us about half an hour to an hour. Then our steep climb began. It is steep, no matter what any guide says, and for short legs like mine, every step is a great upwards heave. The trick is to shine your torch on the person infront’s shoes, and just follow their steps up and up, until, hopefully…one day, you reach the top.
Reaching the top is great because not only have you stopped walking uphill but you get food. In our case we got an egg sandwich, a piece of green cake, coffee, and awesomely a boiled egg, that had been cooked from the steam of the volcano! I would advise not drinking the coffee though, as there are no toilets and its a long way back to hold on… trust me I would know.
The sunrise was beautiful, the view alone was amazing, the little village below, the biggest Balinese lake and behind it, the neighbouring mountain. Add a sunset to the mix and you forget that you woke up at 3am and trekked up a steep, steep hill. The crater left from the 60’s eruption is also very cool. The smoking slopes make you feel like you’re Frodo, or perhaps even Legolas if you’re feeling sassy.
The price was more than we were expecting… but really not that much. It was 300,000 Rupiah, which is about £15. And £15 to walk up a mountain with two tour guides, lifts and breakfast is pretty damn good.
I would advise doing this for sure, it is steep but it isn’t steep enough for you to have to be super fit or anything. The view and experience from the top is just incredible and makes the sweat totally worth it, in fact the sweat makes it even better. But, take a jumper, or two, or even three. It gets coooold, especially after all that hot, hard work up there. But overall, totally amazing and beautiful.
sheshellsblog 