BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

I will be spending 8 nights in Bali in June and plan to spend a few days in Kuta (& surrounds), then move up to hike Gunung Agung (to see the dawn I beleive is recommended??) and then to Ubud before on to Singapore. I would like to know where to stay in the Gunung Agung area before we hike? or is it perhaps not worth getting accommodation the night before as the hike starts at midnight? (is that correct??) I'm sure we will need somewhere to recover afterwards so where would be best to head once the hike is over.
I'm new to this forum so please point me in the direction if this has already been answered.
Thanks!

There are 2 main places to start from, Besakih temple area on the west side, and Pura Pasar Agung on the south side.

The Besakih route is longer, requiring a midnight take off. Pura Pasar Agung is shorter (along still a strenous hike), requiring a 2am start.

I hiked from Pura Pasar Agung and stayed at Pura Agung guest house in Selat.

Here's how my hike went.

You;ll have to either arrange transportation to the trailhead or drive yourself. Be sure to take plenty of water and some food.

Thanks Nick, the story and your photo's were great. You are indeed the font of all Bali knowledge. Think I'm going to start from Besakih. So maybe the best thing to do would be to hire a car and a driver from Kuta to take us to Besakih in the afternoon of the day before and then find a guest house in the area to get a couple of hours sleep before starting hike at midnight and then go back there to collapse after the hike. Would there be somewhere to stay in Besakih near enough to the start of the treck do you reckon or will we have an issue finding a car at 11p.m.?
Or perhaps a better plan would be move on after the hike and check into somewhere more populated rather than staying in Besakih (as I'm guessing there's not much there?) What would your suggestion be?

There are a couple of guest houses close to the Besakih temple, although maybe Selat will be your best bet.

Best way to handle transport, assuming you don't want to drive yourself, is to hire a ca & driver for 2 days, he can stay in the same guest house as you for cheap.

I know a driver named Roy who is pretty good.

081 23912855

Before you leave Kuta, explain to him the deal, that he's going to have to drive you to the trailhead at midnight and pick you up several hours later.

After an exhausting hike, it will be nice to have a car and driver waiting. Pack some Pocari Sweat drinks and snacks.

As you may of read, the lower slopes of Besakih are covered in low trees. There is a distinct 'tree-line' where the vegetation stops. From there on there is no cover from the sun. The track goes straight up, no switchbacks, making i very hard fro people with knee problems. The ground is heavily rutted and turning an ankle is possible. You might not want to hike the mountain in wet conditions.

Have a great time.

Hi Nick, is Mick with Indo Bike Tours around anymore. the link didn't work to the site.

Mick stopped doing Indo Bike Tours back in 2004. It was actually much harder to get customers than he imagined as experienced riders may not want a tour and beginners may have varied levels of riding skill.

One way to explore Bali is to get a Perama bus to take you from point to point, then rent a scooter for the day to explore the local area.