Bali: Mount Batur Sunrise Trek & Breakfast with Pickup

4.98

(132 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Is it really worth waking up at 2am for a mountain? That’s what I kept asking myself as we bumped along the dark roads out of Ubud. Our driver didn’t say much, just grinned when I tried to ask “how steep?” in Bahasa (I probably butchered it). The air felt cooler than I expected, kind of damp, and the smell of clove cigarettes drifted in every time we passed another scooter. By the time we reached Mount Batur, there were a few other sleepy faces gathering at the trailhead — but our guide led us off to a quieter path, which I appreciated more than I thought I would.

The climb itself wasn’t easy, not gonna lie. The ground was loose in spots and my legs started to complain about halfway up. Our guide—Wayan—kept pointing out little things: the way you could hear frogs even this high up, or how the black lava fields looked almost fake under moonlight. He had this thermos of sweet Balinese coffee that he shared with us during a quick break (I still think about that warmth in my hands). It was pitch black except for our headlamps and this weird sense that something big was waiting at the top.

And then suddenly it was there—the sky started turning this washed-out pink behind Mount Agung, and everyone went quiet for a minute. Wayan handed out breakfast (eggs cooked right in the steam vents—didn’t expect that) while we watched Lake Batur catch the first light. There was something about sitting on those rough stones with strangers, sharing bread and coffee, just watching clouds move over the volcanoes. Didn’t feel like a tour at all—more like being let in on some early morning secret. After that it all sort of blurred together: photos, laughter, someone trying to feed a monkey their leftover toast (bad idea), and then heading back down before the heat set in.