3am
The pickup for the Mt Batur sunrise jeep tour (we booked it on Klook, photographer included) was at 3am or so. Once again, we were rethinking life choices made during holidays. (See also: the hot air balloon in Melbourne.)
It took two drivers to get us up there: one from the hotel to the foot of the mountain, then a jeep driver for the climb. The jeep was an old open-top 4x4, and the first stop was a spot on the volcano’s slope to look at the stars. It’s pitch black up there, so the sky is full of them. Our jeep driver doubled as photographer, and he knew every pose in the book.
We weren’t the only ones. By 5am the ridge was a car park of jeeps, all waiting for the same sunrise.
Sunrise
Then the sky started turning pink, and the mountains showed up across the valley with a sea of clouds below them.
Cue more photos on the jeep roof.
The whole of Bali was up there with us.
When the sun finally came over the clouds, it was worth the 3am. Mostly.
In daylight, you could finally see how many jeeps were up there.
The black lava field
On the way down, we passed farms on the volcano’s slopes, with cabbages growing in the volcanic soil.
Then the black lava field: a wide plain of jagged black rock from Batur’s old eruptions, with the volcano right behind. One more photo shoot, this time with the jeep in front.
Coffee at Abian Kusumasari
The tour ended at Abian Kusumasari, a coffee plantation on the way back to Ubud. They showed us how the beans are roasted over a wood fire, the old way.
Then the free tasting: a tray of a dozen little cups of coffees and teas, from ginseng coffee and coconut coffee to lemongrass tea. Kopi luwak is extra (Rp 65,000 a cup).
Back at The Udaya by mid-morning, with a whole day still ahead of us. Onward to the pool!
Information About the Mt Batur Jeep Tour
An active volcano in Kintamani, north-east of Ubud. The jeep tours drive you up its slopes in the dark for the sunrise, then down to the old black lava fields. No hiking needed.
PS: Bring a jacket. It's properly cold up there before sunrise, which nobody expects in Bali.