Then there was Gunung Agung which is located east of Batur and from everything I read it was a longer and more difficult climb. Batur is for the tourists because its views are stellar and it is a short easy trek of two hours to the summit.
Whereas Gunung Agung stood as the holy mountain and at 3,033 meters high it is the highest point on Bali and the 5th highest volcano in Indonesia. It is the home of the mother Temple of Pura Besakih from which all the rest of the 9 directional temples spring as these 9 temples act as the island’s guardians from evil spirits.
I had seen it from Nusa Lembongan before and knew I had to get there, I tried in February but the rain made it impossible and now having done it I am so glad I didn’t do it in the mud or rain. It would have made a challenging trek into an impossible one with the risk of injury increasing with every step.
There are three primary routes you can take one the starts close to the Besakih on the west side of Agung and can be 6 to 7 hours up and another 6 to 7 down. With the other 2 main trekking routes starting south at Pura Pasar Agung. This route splits off into two routes one you hit the caldera one circling the crater and the other leading to the actual summit.
I met a young guy named Eric on couchsurfing and we both wanted to climb Agung. It was the reason both of us had come to Bali, to summit the Volcano and meet the rising sun.
To meet the sky and awe at the holy mountain that towers above Bali is a gift, a wonder and a moment to experience.
When you travel for awhile and you have a choice we both wanted to earn the view in comparison to trekking up Gunung Batur it meant more to have to work for it than having it just be given to you through a stroll.
So what did we do to prepare, we were told to bring a sweater as we would be picked up in Kuta at 9 pm and start the climb at 11 pm so we could make it to the summit by sunrise.
I am not 100% sure but I think we started at Pura Pengubengan Besakih which is north west of Pura Besakih. From there if we were trekking in a straight line it would be 5.26 km but Eric’s iPhone fitness tracker measured us going a total of 11.1 miles or 17.8 km up and down starting at about 1,045 meters above sea level and climbing to more than 3,033 meters at Agung’s summit.
I hadn’t really prepared for a long hike, the last time I had done anything physical was when I had my last muay thai fight at the end of January. So I didn’t know what it would take.
The other Eric had done his research and we debated just going up to Besakih and find a guide there or arranging it through an agency. We ended up doing it through Dartha Mount Agung Trekking.
Their website had good information and although we probably could have done it cheaper by just going to Besakish ourselves since we were splitting the cost between the two of us and we were doing it last minute we thought it was as good as we were going to get.
The costs was 700,000 for pick up and drop off at your hotel, then 1,200,000 for the guide. This was the cost for one or two people, so we choose this one because doing it together was cheaper than doing it on our own and they provided headlamps, a walking stick and some food during our breaks as we climbed.
We were told to bring 3 L of water, so 1.5 L up and another 1.5 L down, snacks for on the way up and down. I ended up bringing an electrolyte drink and a can of some local drink, some cookies, sugar tablets because I am diabetic and some chips.
I was worried about what it would take to do this trek because I have been trekking before and faced a low blood sugar which thankfully didn’t happen on this trek.
I took insulin once at dinner and didn’t end up taking any insulin at all until I had returned to my hostel the next day. My blood sugars were normal to a little low so I kept on snacking as we climbed.
It wasn’t until we had come down and finished that my blood sugar became high. I didn’t think I could go around 20 km up and down without facing the diabetic repercussions but I did and I didn’t think I could go eating without taking any insulin and I still wonder why that was.
Our group got started the long climb at 11 pm on April 22nd, 2016 right after the moon head reached it’s zenith a day before which provided some much needed moonlight instead of being in the darkness of a new moon.
I was worried about climbing in the dark but I think many people that have done it would say that the darkness was a blessing in disguise because it hid the sheer length and height of the climb ahead.
If I had known how high it was then I may have had second thoughts. Most of the trek was through forest. It wasn’t up until we were 2 hours away that the forest gave way to volcanic rock and a seemingly sheer 45 degree angled climb.
I can’t imagine doing this climb if it had rained because that would have made it near impossible to get up and even more so down without falling or slipping. So it is a good idea to check Mountain Forecast for what the weather conditions would be like during your accent to the summit.
I didn’t realize how high we were going until I saw the trail on the way down. The path usually followed a deep line cut into the forest floor that rose higher and higher with it feeling like there would be no end in sight.
Although I think I am fit I have never been fast and I would say that my only super power would be being consistent, more slow than fast but a steady pace. I have tried not to think about my diabetes as a limitation and I choose to see it as a reminder, of how fragile we are and the balance I need to maintain which I am getting back to.
We climbed it in the light of a full moon and were greeted with astonishing views of Bali, Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan, Gunung Batur and in the far distance east of of Bali you could see the peak of Gunung Rinjani in Lombok which from Gunung Agung’s peak was 105.27 km away. It beckons to the adventurer in me to climb and summit it’s peak as we had just done Bali’s.
Although Gunung Agung can be done in a day it is not just a mountain but a volcano that deserves respect, awe and humility if you attempt to rise to it’s peak. I would say that you need a guide if only because they know the path to take up.
Not just following the trekking path laid out before but the way to get around roots, obstacles and rocks. I often found myself as I was last not knowing how to get around certain areas even though my guide and my friend were just 7 or 8 meters ahead.
Then just a few hundred meters to the summit the forest faded and was replaced with lava rock and stone up an accent that seemed angle 40 degrees up at certain points.
It was an amazing climb that as I wrote this I could still feel in my legs. Going down was probably harder than going up because I thought the sheer exhaustion and the ease of slipping while going down was more risky than when we were going up.
I think we really earned these views and as the golden glow faded and we took our pictures to prove we were there everyone knew that they had to repeat the same task going down, that although we had risen skyward we were only half way done.
There was about 10 of us who had made it up from the 3 major routes, us from Besakih, and the other from Pura Pasar Agung. On the way up we saw human’s impact as trash littered the trail and I remember in myself to respect the mountain by keeping it clean, so that only my footprints and the photos are the proof I had made the climb. As the holy mountain, as the protector of what Bali was, who it’s people are and what it means I think you can do no less than that.
Going down was quicker because we were no longer in the dark of night and you could see what we had just climbed up just a few hours ago with little but a light and a path to follow.
Looking east you saw Rinjani and then as you looked east you could see Gunung Batur and the epic scale of the caldera and the crater lake and the new Batur peak rising from within.
I was going to take pictures as I went down but there came a point where I knew if I stopped I knew I wouldn’t want to get going. So our guide and the other Eric went faster than me going down. I wasn’t going to fast I took my time just tried to be consistent.
It just felt like it would never end but there comes a point when you don’t even feel your legs anymore when they are so tired that you can’t feel them at all. That is a small miracle, to find a way to keep on walking, as you slide beneath the rocks, gravel and roots that litter your pathway down to realize how steep it was at points and to realize that you had made it there and just had to get back.
I say if you want to see Bali in all it’s glory then you have to take on the challenge of Gunung Agung to marvel at the beauty of this island itself and the people that call her home.
I had wanted to climb a volcano for awhile and Agung was not the volcano I sought to climb when I stepped off my plane, knowing that I could do this means I know I can do Rinjani.
Just as you could see Rinjani from Agung, it calls to my spirit, to rise to see how Agung looks from Rinjani as now I know what Rinjani looks like from Agung’s peak.
Maybe I won’t get to Rinjani this time but I will get there at some point. Gunung Agung is not an easy climb but it isn’t so difficult if you are reasonably fit. If I as a diabetic can do it then I think so can most.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to experience the exhaustion and exhilaration of getting to her summit just as the sun rises to meet you. It isn’t for those who just want a photo op, it is for those who respect the mountain and who understand that for the hours of ache and sleep deprivation those brief moments of wonder are worth pain because it isn’t easy and because it must be earned.