Tours in Mount Batur

Mount Batur is an active volcano in the northeast of Bali, 1,717 metres high. It stands inside a caldera thirteen kilometres across, formed by an eruption roughly thirty thousand years ago. Lake Batur fills half the caldera floor. It is the island's largest.

The cone has erupted more than twenty times since 1800, most recently in 2000. Steam still vents from cracks near the summit. It is warm enough that guides cook eggs in it, which is a party trick and a reminder of what the mountain is.

The rim road at Kintamani looks down over the whole formation. On a clear morning Mount Agung stands behind it.

The sunrise trek is one of the most-booked experiences on Bali, and it runs to a set timetable.

• Pick-up. Groups leave the south or Ubud between one and three in the morning.
• The start. Walking begins at Toya Bungkah around four, with head torches.
• The summit. About two hours up, for the sunrise over Lombok and Agung.
• Breakfast. At the top, and part of it.
• Down. An hour and a half, often past the lava field from the 1968 flow.
• After. Many tours finish at the natural hot springs on the lake shore.

Not everyone walks. Jeep tours run to the black-sand slopes without the climb, and cycling routes run downhill from the rim through the villages.

Practical

• Cold. Ten degrees or less at the top before dawn, with wind, after a hot start at sea level. A jacket matters more than anything else you carry.
• Shoes. The path is loose volcanic scree in places, so closed shoes are essential.
• Difficulty. Graded moderate: two hours uphill in the dark, no technical difficulty.
• The hour. It is genuinely early, and the day afterwards is written off.
• Guides. Local guiding is organised by an association, and going without a guide is not permitted.
• Wet season. Rain makes the scree unpleasant and the sunrise pointless.
• Money. Cash for the entrance, the guide's tip and the hot springs.