Mount Batur, Before Five
The volcano sunrise hike that has become a rite of passage — and how to do it without the crowds.
Mount Batur is an active volcano in central Bali. From the top, at five in the morning, you can see the sea on three sides and the steam rising out of fissures next to your shoes.
Most groups leave at 3am. You should leave at 2am. The earlier start puts you above the cloud line before the sun does anything, gives you the summit to yourself for forty minutes, and means you are descending while everyone else is still climbing.
A private guide costs four times the group rate and is worth every rupiah. Ours brings hot chocolate in a thermos for the summit, and breakfast — fried banana, sweet rice — from the warung at the trailhead afterwards.
On the summit nobody is talking. You can hear the steam.
We arrange the guide, the driver, the breakfast, and the towel back at the villa. You arrive home at 9am, in time for the second sleep.