Gunung Batur (Bali)

...stunning place but unfortunately necessary. Gunung Batur (Batur Mountain) is in central bali and is one of the island's most sacred places. It's a beautiful sight when you arrive at the top: the road climbs and climbs up the edge of this ancient volcano until you reach the lip of the caldera, when this astonishing view opens up. The walls of the caldera fall amost vertically to the plain that was the old centre of the volcano, which has now re-emerged ...
...very active volcano. Curling round one side of the new volcano is lake batur.

THere is much you can do here. First instinct will be to get out of the car and admire the spectacle - well worth a look but be careful of the hawkers. This is a very poor area and visitors are pounced on by vendors desperate to sell you everythign from fruit to chessboards. This is normal for Bali, but their pleading tones and genunie desperation make refusing ... more

... not a very nice way to start an op about such a truly stunning place but unfortunately necessary. Gunung Batur (Batur Mountain) is in central bali and is one of the island's most sacred places. It's a beautiful sight when you arrive at the top: the road climbs and climbs up the edge of this ancient volcano until you reach the lip of the caldera, when this astonishing view opens up. The walls of the caldera fall amost vertically to the plain that was the old centre of the volcano, which has now re-emerged in the centre of the plain as a new and very active volcano. Curling round one side of the new volcano is lake batur.

THere is much you can do here. First instinct will be to get out of the car and admire the spectacle - well worth a look but be careful of the hawkers. This is a very poor area and visitors are pounced on by vendors desperate to sell you everythign from fruit to chessboards. This is normal for Bali, but their pleading tones and genunie desperation make refusing them harder and more upsetting than normal.

Descend to the plain and things become a bit easier. Inside the caldera the landscape is dominated by the new volcano, the black lava flows from the 1994 erruption still clearly visible. It's a bumpy path over the flows to the lake, where there are several hotels and some mediocre restaurants: you're best off staying here. Bizarrely there are also hot springs by the lake to bathe in (about $5) although the lake itself is cold, fresh water. Sitting in the outdoor baths and gazing at the scenery is quite an experience.

But the main reason to come here is to climb the volcano. This is easier than most as it takes only a couple of hours, but it's still a tough clime, bring warm but removable clothes (the descent is hot) and a good torch - falling over on hard lava is not a nice experience. From the top you will watch sunrise (the climb starts at night) and locals will cook you bananas and eggs for breakfast on the volcanic steam vents while you shiver and admire the sunrise over the lake, beautiful if it's not cloudy. An essential word of advice however: this is the point at which you will really regret not hiring a guide if you haven't got one with you. Some people economise by going it alone, but the path is hard to find and the volcano still very dangerous: the active parts are very active and out of bounds. If you're still tempted, consider this: the guy who was my guide gave me a very graphic description of his part in bringing down the body of a dutch woman who went too near the active peak and was struck by a sudden erruption. It certainly put me off wandering around. But stick with a guide and it's not at all dangerous, and overall a great place. 

...less