Mount Batur sunrise by jeep

1. 
   Stop 1

   Sunrise over Mount Batur

   The jeep collects you from the hotel in the dark and drives up to the rim of the Batur caldera in Kintamani, about ninety minutes from the south of the island. From the viewpoint you watch the sun rise behind Mount Abang and Mount Agung, with the lake and the volcano in front of you and the cloud lying in the valley below. It is cold before dawn at this height — a jacket is needed — and the driver brings hot coffee, tea and a light breakfast to have while you wait for the light. This is the easy way to see the sunrise: no trekking, and the whole family can come.

2. 
   Stop 2

   The viewpoint over the caldera

   The jeeps park on a high shoulder of the crater rim, and as the light comes up the whole caldera appears below you: the villages of Kintamani, the farms on the slopes, the lake, and the black cone of the volcano itself. You get out and walk along the rim for the photographs, and the driver explains where the lava came from in the last eruptions. The jeeps are old Land Cruisers and Jimnys with the roof open, and the children ride in the back with the view all round.

3. 
   Stop 3

   Off-road across the black lava fields

   After the sunrise the jeep drops down into the caldera and onto the lava: a plain of black rock and sand left by the eruptions of 1963 and 1968, with the volcano on one side and the lake on the other. The driver takes it at a pace that makes the ride the fun of the morning — up over the ridges and down through the gullies, with a stop on top of the lava where the light is best for a picture. The road back runs along the lake through the villages and the farms on its shore.

Rather plan the day yourselves? Take the car and the driver-guide on their own: eight hours for 500,000 rupiah or $30, and you choose where the day goes. Ask about the driver service · How the driver day works

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