Aside from the cooking school experience, the other highlight that Han and I enjoyed was the trek up Mount Batur to catch the sunrise!
Honestly, I was the one looking forward to it most because I like trekking (although much can be said about my deteriorating level of fitness over the years) and capturing beautiful scenes. And I didn't regret it!! Although I did question my decision during the exhausting way up haha.
This Mount Batur hike can only be attempted if you have a local guide along with you. I believe that's cause there have been a few tourist death cases before so now they have this rule imposed. Anyway, all of the local guides there have been doing this for months if not years, so they are all really capable and fit. You can be rest assured.
You can stop for a break on your way up or down whenever, but there are two main stop points where there'll be some makeshift minimart selling some drinks and biscuits if you need them.
The road up wasn't too difficult at first, but it got steeper and gradually difficult because of the volcanic ash and rocks that made the whole road up slippery. It's easy to lose your footing and slide on the rocks. We all did it quite a couple of times.
The hike took us about 3 hours?? But we did take quite a bit of breaks now and then. I'd say it's not an easy hike, but with your guide you'll get through it fine! Just a heads up though - you'll mostly be hiking up in darkness with nothing but your flashlights. But even that makes for quite a spectacular sight when you see a trail of lights from the hikers that were before you. It's a sweaty hike up but you'll cool down at the summit since it'll be cold.
It's 1717m up, but the sunrise that greets you at the summit is going to be worth it. We even took a timelapse video of the sunrise!! You can stay tuned to that in our Bali travel video. :)
At the summit, you would also be able to look over to this gigantic crater. We barely caught a glimpse of it cause the day of our hike was quite cloudy, so the visibility is limited. Our guide showed us deep holes in that had volcano steam rising from the active Mount Batur.
The guide and transport to Mount Batur would cost you about $60, depending on where you apply for the tour. I got mine via our private driver hire. The cost also includes insurance and a flashlight.
Honestly, I was the one looking forward to it most because I like trekking (although much can be said about my deteriorating level of fitness over the years) and capturing beautiful scenes. And I didn't regret it!! Although I did question my decision during the exhausting way up haha.
This Mount Batur hike can only be attempted if you have a local guide along with you. I believe that's cause there have been a few tourist death cases before so now they have this rule imposed. Anyway, all of the local guides there have been doing this for months if not years, so they are all really capable and fit. You can be rest assured.
You can stop for a break on your way up or down whenever, but there are two main stop points where there'll be some makeshift minimart selling some drinks and biscuits if you need them.
The road up wasn't too difficult at first, but it got steeper and gradually difficult because of the volcanic ash and rocks that made the whole road up slippery. It's easy to lose your footing and slide on the rocks. We all did it quite a couple of times.
The hike took us about 3 hours?? But we did take quite a bit of breaks now and then. I'd say it's not an easy hike, but with your guide you'll get through it fine! Just a heads up though - you'll mostly be hiking up in darkness with nothing but your flashlights. But even that makes for quite a spectacular sight when you see a trail of lights from the hikers that were before you. It's a sweaty hike up but you'll cool down at the summit since it'll be cold.
It's 1717m up, but the sunrise that greets you at the summit is going to be worth it. We even took a timelapse video of the sunrise!! You can stay tuned to that in our Bali travel video. :)
At the summit, you would also be able to look over to this gigantic crater. We barely caught a glimpse of it cause the day of our hike was quite cloudy, so the visibility is limited. Our guide showed us deep holes in that had volcano steam rising from the active Mount Batur.
The guide and transport to Mount Batur would cost you about $60, depending on where you apply for the tour. I got mine via our private driver hire. The cost also includes insurance and a flashlight.
Overall, it was quite the experience!! Would I do it again? Hmm I wouldn't climb Mount Batur again but I'm definitely eyeing Mount Bromo and Ijen (which are other volcanos in Indonesia). I'm always one for sightseeing so this was definitely one of my highlights of our Bali trip!
I'll get my next Bali sights post up soon! I'm currently in the midst of my UK travels and it's already so amazing I can't wait to share about that too!!
Check out my other travel posts:
▶ Pemulan Bali Farm Cooking School - Bali Getaway (part 1)
▶ Catching Sunrise on Mount Batur - Bali Getaway (part 2)
▶ Food and Sightseeing Highlights - Bali Getaway (part 3)
I'll get my next Bali sights post up soon! I'm currently in the midst of my UK travels and it's already so amazing I can't wait to share about that too!!
Check out my other travel posts:
▶ Pemulan Bali Farm Cooking School - Bali Getaway (part 1)
▶ Catching Sunrise on Mount Batur - Bali Getaway (part 2)
▶ Food and Sightseeing Highlights - Bali Getaway (part 3)
