Is the Mount Batur sunrise trek worth it?

Mount Batur is an active volcano in a huge caldera in the northeast, 1,717 metres high, and the sunrise trek is the most popular organised activity in Bali. It is also, done well, genuinely one of the best mornings you can have here.

What actually happens

• Around 1.30 to 2.30am: pickup from your hotel. From Ubud it is 90 minutes to the trailhead; from the south, two and a half hours.
• Around 3.30 to 4am: registration, a torch, a guide, and the walk starts.
• Two hours up, on a path that goes from gentle track to steep loose volcanic scree near the top.
• Around 6am: sunrise from the rim, over the caldera, Lake Batur, and Mount Abang and Agung beyond. On clear mornings Rinjani on Lombok is visible across the water.
• Breakfast at the top, traditionally eggs cooked in the volcanic steam vents.
• An hour and a half down, often via the crater rim and the steam vents.
• Back at your hotel between 10am and noon.

How hard is it

Moderate. It is two hours of continuous uphill walking, steep in the last section, on loose ground, in the dark. Reasonably fit people with no hiking experience do it every day. It is not technical and there is no scrambling.

It is harder than the photographs suggest for anyone who does not walk regularly, and the descent on loose scree is where people slip.

What to take

• Proper shoes. Trainers minimum, not sandals.
• A warm layer. The summit before dawn is around 10 to 15 degrees with wind, after a 2am start in the heat of Ubud.
• A head torch, though guides provide torches.
• Water, more than you think, and a snack.
• A light rain layer in wet season.

Guides, and the rule about them

A local guide is compulsory. The trailhead is managed by the local guide association and climbing independently is not permitted and not sensible in the dark on an active volcano.

Prices vary widely. Expect roughly 400,000 to 900,000 rupiah per person including hotel transfers and breakfast. Very cheap packages usually mean larger groups and a rushed pace.

The honest bits

It is busy. Several hundred people climb on a good morning in high season. The summit at sunrise is not a solitary experience and the path is a line of head torches.

The view depends on the weather. Cloud can cover the caldera entirely, and there is no refund for weather. Wet season mornings are a genuine gamble; dry season, roughly May to September, is far more reliable.

Volcanic activity occasionally closes routes. Batur is active and monitored, and the authorities close it when they need to.

The hawking. There are people selling drinks and snacks along the route and at the top, at a markup that reflects having carried them up a volcano.

The alternatives

Mount Agung, higher, harder and a serious overnight climb, usually starting around midnight for a longer and much steeper route. For experienced hikers only, and subject to activity closures.

Sunrise from Lake Batur's rim viewpoints by car, at Kintamani, with no walking at all and a view that is 80 per cent as good.

The Campuhan ridge walk in Ubud, for sunrise on a small scale with no 2am alarm.

A jeep tour up the black lava field, which is the option for people who want the caldera without the climb.

Sunrise over Sidemen or from Amed, both of which give you Agung at dawn from a hotel balcony.

Should you do it

If you are moderately fit and in Bali in dry season, yes. If your trip is short and you have one free day, be aware you will be tired for the rest of it. And if the weather forecast is poor, move it rather than spending 400,000 rupiah on a cloud.