Central Mountains - Bali and Lombok - page 110

need transport to Pura Ulun Danu Batur, near
the northern end of the lake. From there you
can climb to the top of the outer crater rim in
under 30 minutes, and see Bali's northeast coast,
about 5km away. At sunrise, the silhouette of
Lombok looms across the water, and the first
rays strike the great volcanoes of Batur and
Agung. If you can reconnoitre this route in day-
light, you'll be able to do it without a guide.
VILLAGES AROUND
GUNUNG BATUR CRATER
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There are several small villages on the ridge
around Gunung Batur crater. The Penelokan
area is filled with bus-tour restaurants, al-
though some are good. Generally places on
the west side of the road enjoy views down to
South Bali while those on the east side look
into the double caldera.
Penelokan
Penelokan means 'Place to Look' - and you
will be stunned by the view across to Gunung
Batur and down to the lake at the bottom of
the crater. Apart from the vista (check out the
large lava flow on Gunung Batur), there's not
much here - a large bus-tour hotel, several ugly
monolithic restaurants peering over the crater
and numerous desperate souvenir sellers.
The road around the rim has several huge,
overpriced buffet-style restaurants geared to
busloads of tour groups. They all have fine
views, and provide lunches from 60,000Rp
to 80,000Rp or more.
But amid this there are some decent choices,
including many humble places where you can
sit on a plastic chair and have a simple meal
while enjoying a priceless view. Batur Indah
( % 51020; meals 30,000-60,000Rp; h 8am-5pm) has
South Bali views as does Bumi Ayu ( % 52345;
meals 30,000-70,000Rp; h 8am-5pm) . For views into
the crater, consider Gunawan ( % 51404; meals
30,000-80,000Rp; h 8am-5pm).
Batur & Kintamani
The villages of Batur and Kintamani now
virtually run together. Kintamani is famed for
its large and colourful market held every three
days. It starts early and by 11am it's all over.
If you don't want to go on a trek, the sunrise

the lava flow stopped at the entrance to the
village's main temple.
Taking this as a good omen, the village was
rebuilt, but Gunung Batur erupted again in
1926. This time, the lava flow covered every-
thing except for the loftiest temple shrine.
Fortunately, there were evacuations and few
lives were lost. The village was relocated up
on the crater rim, and the surviving shrine
was also moved up there and placed in the
new temple, Pura Batur (sarong & sash rental 1000Rp,
admission donation 4100Rp) .
Spiritually, Gunung Batur is the second
most important mountain in Bali (only Gu-
nung Agung outranks it) so this temple is of
considerable importance. It's a great stop as
there are always a few colourful mountain
characters hanging around. Within the com-
plex is a Taoist shrine.
The Hotel Miranda ( % 52022; Jl Raya Kintamani,
Kintamani; s/d 25,000/50,000Rp) is the only accom-
modation here. The six rooms are clean and
very basic with squat toilets. It has good food
and a congenial open fire at night. The in-
formative owner can also act as a trekking
guide (see p243).
Penulisan
The road gradually climbs along the crater
rim beyond Kintamani, and is often shroud-
ed in clouds, mist or rain. Penulisan is where
the road bends sharply and heads down to-
wards the north coast. A viewpoint about
400m south from here offers an amazing pan-
orama over three mountains: Gunung Batur,
Gunung Abang and Gunung Agung. If you're
coming from the north, this is where you'll
first see what all the tourism fuss is about.
Near the road junction, several steep flights
of steps lead to Bali's highest temple, Pura
Puncak Penulisan (1745m). Inside the highest
courtyard are rows of old statues and frag-
ments of sculptures in the open bale (pavil-
ions). Some of the sculptures date back to the
11th century. The temple views are superb:
facing north you can see over the rice ter-
races clear to the Singaraja coast (weather
permitting).
VILLAGES AROUND DANAU BATUR
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onions from the many farms. You'll also see
chillies, cabbage and garlic growing. Yum!
A hairpin-bend road winds its way down
from Penelokan to the shore of Danau Batur.
At the lakeside you can go left along the good
road that winds its way through lava fields to
Toya Bungkah, the usual base for climbing
Gunung Batur.
Kedisan & Buahan
The villages around the southern end of the
lake have a few places available to stay in
a fairly isolated setting. Buahan is a pleas-
ant 15-minute stroll from Kedisan, and has
market gardens going right down to the
lakeshore.
Beware of the motorcycle touts who will
follow you down the hill from Penelokan,
trying out the various guide and hotel scams.
Local hotels ask that you try to call ahead
and reserve so that they can have your name
on record and thus avoid paying a bounty
to the touts.

A little beyond Trunyan, and accessible
only by boat is the cemetery at Kuban. The
people of Trunyan do not cremate or bury
their dead - they lie them out in bamboo
cages to decompose. A collection of skulls and
bones lies on a stone platform. This is a tourist
trap for those with macabre tastes.
Boats leave from a jetty near the middle
of Kedisan, where there is a ticket office and
a car park (1000Rp) with a few pushy ven-
dors. Tourists are not allowed to catch the
public boat. The price for a four-hour return
trip - Kedisan-Trunyan-Kuban-Toya Bung-
kah-Kedisan - depends on the number of pas-
sengers, with a maximum of seven (200,000Rp
to 220,000Rp).
Toya Bungkah
The main tourist centre is Toya Bungkah
(also known as Tirta), with its hot springs
( tirta and toya both mean water). Toya
Bungkah is a simple village, but travellers
stay here so they can climb Gunung Batur
early in the morning. And if you take a mo-
ment to smell the onions (and take in the
view of the placid lake) you may just decide

SLEEPING & EATING
Both of these places have basic cafés.
Hotel Astra Dana ( % 52091; r 50,000-100,000Rp)
The more expensive of the 12 rooms have hot
water and views to the lake across onion and
cabbage fields. This is the home of the always
delightful Dizzy, local guide extraordinaire.
See p243 for details on the trekking agency
based here.
Hotel Segara ( % 51136; [e-mail]; r
60,000-100,000Rp; i ) Next door to Hotel Surya,
the Segara has bungalows set around a court-
yard. The more expensive rooms have hot
water. It's clean and comfortable enough for
a night. The restaurant is a good place to
sample the local fish. See p243 for details on
the trekking agency based here.
Trunyan & Kuban
The village of Trunyan is squeezed between
the lake and the outer crater rim. It is inhab-
ited by Bali Aga people. But unlike Tenganan
(see p225) it is not a welcoming place.
Trunyan is known for the Pura Pancering
Jagat , with its 4m-high statue of the village's
guardian spirit, but tourists are not allowed
to go inside. There are also several traditional

TOYA BUNGKAH

0 50 m

A B

To Songan

(3km)

SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES

Arlina's Trekking Agency...........(see 3)

HPPGB Guides Office................... 1 A3

1

Jero Wijaya Tourist Service.........(see 5)

Tirta Sanjiwani Hot Springs

Complex.................................. 2 B3

Volcano Breeze..........................(see 7)

SLEEPING

Arlina's Bungalows & Restaurant.. 3 A3

Hotel Puri Bening Hayato &

Restaurant................................ 4 B3

Lakeside Cottages & Restaurant... 5 B2

Under the Volcano III................... 6 B3

EATING

2

Volcano Breeze............................ 7 B3

5

4

6

7

1

3

3 2