Review: Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking in Bali Indonesia with KKDay
I have always loved trekking – there is something very therapeutic about putting one foot in front of the other, sweating it out in the lush tropical forests and enjoying the chilly breeze on mountaintops. The lush viridescent surroundings seem to envelope me and the sounds of nature constantly comfort me. Furthermore, the quiet satisfaction I get from completing a trek is indescribable.
I can fondly recall some of my favourite hikes in New Zealand, Bhutan and Malaysia, where I also met some of my closest friends – climbing a mountain reveals much about a person’s character.
Yeaaaaaaa – that’s pretty much all in the past. Now I can barely walk from the MRT to my office without giving up and taking a bus (one stop) down.
So I really didn’t know what possessed me to click on this Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking tour and say hey, let’s torture ourselves and climb a mountain on our relaxing, suntanning-massages-and-acai-bowls-on-repeat girls’ trip to Bali, Indonesia.
But spoiler alert: I’m so glad I did.
There must have been an old part of myself hidden deep down inside that still loved trekking but when we woke up groggily at 1 am from our luxurious covers, I wanted to punch that part of myself.
At least we didn’t have to walk far… to the car cos’ our driver was parked right outside our villa waiting for us, prepared with bottles of water. Off we drove towards Uluwatu, with me trying to catch some winks between watching the quiet Bali landscape flash by and taking selfies 😀 My driver even kindly brought us to a 7Eleven cos’ I was starving as per usual and waited as I scarfed down some hot noodles.
When we reached the start of the trail, I was thanking the heavens I brought an extra long-sleeved shirt cos’ it was already FREAKING COLD at the start!! Maybe it was the monsoon season so the weather was colder in general but we were super kiasu and decided to rent another sweater to wear. We also should have rented the walking sticks because it makes the trek much easier – please consider doing so if you don’t trek often!
I was quite excited and happy in the biting morning cold, starting out on a flat path. Silly me thought it was gonna be no kick compared to Mount Agung which I heard was a horrendous 6 hours hike. Then we hit the upslope. It’s really, really, really steep. Hence I said we should have rented the walking sticks grrr.
We took a short break midway where I was trying to eavesdrop on the guides speaking in Bahasa Indonesia haha but I could only catch a few terms because it’s a little different from Malay. They then offered to motorcycle us up the rest of the way and sweet Lord the offer was so tempting but we decided to do it the proper way and climb. We could also decide between a gentler but longer path or a steeper and faster way and because my decision making facilities are pretty much handicapped at 4 am in the morning, we chose the steeper path.
About 5 minutes in, the only thing I could feel (cos’ my appendages were pretty much frozen from the cold) was regret. The incline only got more drastic, from normal steps to like freaking giant ledges more than half my height. Our guide went from holding our hands for stability to basically hauling us both up the ledges hahaha. At some point his friend came up to us, tried to sell us some Pocari sweat he magically produced from his backpack, and when we turned him down, started helping my guide drag us up the mountain too?? Our guides were awesome, waiting for us patiently as we took more and more breaks uphill, and letting us know how far away we were from the top. I didn’t fall once, thanks to their care 😻
Eventually, we reached the peak with some time to spare! Our guides led us to a private area away from all the crowds to watch the sunrise and served up a toasty breakfast for us to warm up while waiting for the sun! 🍳🥓🍌☕️ It doesn’t seem like much but after an arduous climb and with the chilly winds whipping around us, it was the yummiest meal I had ever tasted 😍
We had this drop dead gorgeous view all to ourselves as the sun rose lazily, so we could snap all the best photos without pesky tourists (like ourselves) peppering the background 📸👫 As it got brighter, it also got slightly warmer – but the jackets were still helpful to keep out the drafts (so please don’t gung-ho and trek up in like shorts like some of my other friends). At some point the winds were so cold we had to hide in the huts next to our benches.
This Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking experience was honestly the best part of my whole Bali trip and also, out of all my trips to Bali. i love the island’s beautiful beaches and lush paddy fields, but this sunrise experience feels extra special, like a treat we earned, because we put in effort to reach the top.
With the chilly weather, shrubby vegetation and golden landscapes✨ bathed in the warm sunlight from the orange sun, we almost forgot for a moment that we were in tropical Bali 🏖 It was incredibly therapeutic to gaze at the fiery ball peek out from behind the shadowy outlines of Mount Agung (I think) and light up the mountains in glittery gold ☀️ We were also accompanied by the cutest little mongrel!
Once the sun rose fully, we moved over to the common area – which was so much more crowded, luckily we had our quiet little hideout. Our guide was super enthusiastic about taking photos for us all around the peak!
He also showed us volcanic steam rising from the crater, which they cooked the eggs on! After trying and failing to heat my face up on the steam like a facial steamer, we began our journey back down.
The climb down felt a little longer cos’ we went by the gentler slope but it was so much fun dashing down the sandy paths in the cold! We were soooooo tired after the adrenaline ran out, we knocked out in the car and decided to skip our next stop that was included in the Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking tour: the Bali swing! I was so exhausted I might just fall off the swing and we also didn’t feel like paying $100 to swing and take photos in our sweaty, dusty clothes. (Oh yes, your shoes and outer clothes will be absolutely covered in sand so I would recommend wearing a pair of shoes you wanna throw away!)
So we survived our Mount Batur sunrise trekking!! We went straight home to our lovely Kunja Villas for our fantastic in-villa breakfast and to SLEEP – shiok!!
Just because I climbed a mountain and am feeling enlightened from the experience, here’s a deep quote to sum up our experience: some days the mountains 🌋 seem insurmountable but just keep persevering on 💪🏻 because the view at the peak is 💯 worth it! What a breathtaking (literally) tour with KKDay trekking up Mount Batur to catch the golden sunrise 🌤
Mount Batur Sunrise Trekking was indefinitely an experience not to be missed when you are in Bali, Indonesia, even if all you want to do is eat, chill and sleep! 🌝 To book it, click HERE! And when you book through KKDay, don’t forget to use my promo code SALLY10KK 📣 for 10% off their tours! 💘
