Day 6: Sunrise trekking

At 2 o'clock in the morning, the taxi driver knocked on our room door. Together with three other tourists, we went to the Mount / Volcano Batur. We thought the tour would be canceled because it had been raining and thundering all night. Fortunately, the rain stopped in time. However, due to the weather conditions, we did not go to the announced Mt. Agung, which is 3142 meters high. We only hiked to Mt. Batur, which is 1717 meters high, but that was also sufficient.

After about half an hour drive, we took a break at a coffee plantation for breakfast. Everyone got coffee / tea and banana pancakes, but since we were not allowed to eat them, we brought rice with vegetables. Then we had to drive for another half an hour to get to Mt. Batur. Our guide was already waiting for us there, who was supposed to accompany us on the hike. Everyone received a bottle of water and a flashlight.

Contrary to expectations, there was no path for tourists, etc. We had to climb uphill along dirt roads and gravel to the base camp. Since our guide climbs the volcano 5 times a week, we took very little breaks. We only stopped briefly at the base camp for a drink and then continued to climb steeply up the remaining path. Fortunately, it was dark, so we didn't see the dangers and climbed after our guide. When we reached the top, we were completely sweaty. But we managed to do the hike in 1 hour and 25 minutes, the usual time for the ascent is between 2-3 hours. This was only possible because we were all young and determined and wanted to sit at the top for as long as possible. The sunrise happened very quickly and was indescribably beautiful. The feeling of reaching the top and seeing such a natural spectacle is sensational. The brighter it became, the better we could admire the beauty of nature. However, this was quickly disturbed when the volcano emitted sulfur gas and fogged everything.

The descent took longer because many tourists had problems walking/climbing. Now the path became really clear. Around 8:30 am, we headed back to Ubud. In the hotel, we had breakfast first. We spent the rest of the day chilling, swimming, and eating. During dinner, we had a nice encounter with a group of spiritual people, super pleasant and inspiring :)

Now we are full and very tired, so tonight we will go to sleep early. And tomorrow we will definitely be rewarded with muscle soreness ;)