Ascent of Mount Agung

Ascent from Besakih Temple

Recommended for experienced hikers

It takes approximately 6 hours to reach the summit of Agung from Besakih Temple, and many hikers climb the volcano at night to reach the summit for sunrise. Pura Besakih is actually a vast temple complex that extends across the mountainside. For most visitors, the first impression is one of hundreds of imposing meru, whose multi-tiered roofs made of black palm fiber thatch point toward the sky. Their structural core is a square tunnel cleared through which divinities, ancestors and spirits can descend during festive occasions to take their place in the sanctuaries at their base. Besakih is in a sense a landing place for the gods.

The central temple of the complex, Pura Penataran Agung, is dedicated to the god Shiva. Pura Batu Madeg (temple of the standing stone), which is approached from the rear of Pura Agung and from the left (north-west), is dedicated to Vishnu. Pura Kiduling Kreteg (temple of the South Bridge), located on a bridge and crossing a ravine to the right (south-east), is dedicated to Brahma. Nineteen other temples extend across the slopes of the volcano, each with its own function and its own ceremonial season, but the three temples dedicated to the Hindu trinity are the most important. Almost every day, groups of villagers come to pray and collect holy water which they take home for ceremonies at local temples, or to pay their respects following the complex rituals of the cycle. Each temple in the complex has its own annual ceremony and, approximately every ten years, the impressive Panca Wali Krama, a purification for all of Bali, attracts almost all the island's inhabitants to refresh their bonds with the gods.

If you wish to reach the summit a little before sunrise, plan for six hours of walking, including approximately 45 minutes of rest, which means you will start your adventure - extremely exhausting but memorable - around midnight. The first 45 minutes take you to the mother temple (927 m), then along vegetable plantations following a genuine trek used by the faithful to reach the last temple (Pura Bangpuhan, at 1,180 m) belonging to the Besakih temple complex. Once you pass this temple, you cross the parking lot, then the path descends slightly before climbing again past two recently cleared fields. This ascent lasts a good twenty minutes and ends at the entrance to the forest (1,316 meters), where things get serious.

For the next three or four hours, a good torch or, better yet, a high-quality headlamp is absolutely essential, as the dense forest prevents moonlight from reaching the trail. The first hour and a half is steep but comfortable and often interrupted by flatter passages on the ridges. This first third of the climb ends at a point called "super root", (1,723 meters) a very steep section through massive roots offering good grip.

The next two hours are very hard, steep and often very slippery. This is where you begin to understand why the Agung volcano is undoubtedly one of the most difficult volcanoes to climb in Indonesia, because the trail leads directly to the summit and does not wind along a slope as it does on most mountains in Europe. At an altitude of 2,200 meters, the forest becomes progressively less dense and the trail begins to become more rocky and often covered with loose gravel, which is an additional challenge. After four hours of slow and arduous climbing, you reach your base camp (2,622 meters). This is an area that offers very little space for two tents and is often used by local hikers as a rest point before heading to the summit for sunrise.

The next section, measuring 300 meters, climbs just over 100 meters in altitude and is the only part of the entire hike where the utmost care should be taken. This is the only place where you can fall off a cliff and suffer serious injury. The last hour of the ascent continues to be very steep and frustratingly slow. You reach the last cone of the volcano which is very rocky in its lower part. The last 100 meters before the first summit are no longer very steep but offer a stunning view of Agung's highest point which lies about 350 meters to the east. Once again, at this location, great care must be taken with the trade winds which can blow in gusts up to 100 km/h. There are several fissures in the ground that offer protection from these cold and icy winds. This first western summit is actually only roughly 10 meters lower than the highest point and is listed on the map as standing at 3,028 meters altitude.

The last 15 to 20 minutes along the ridge to the true summit are a genuine challenge.

Ascent from Pasar Agung Temple (to the subsidiary summit or the summit)

Recommended for experienced hikers

The ascent of Agung from Pasar Agung Temple is generally considered the easiest option to reach the subsidiary summit but not the summit. However, it is possible to reach the summit from Pasar Agung, as, halfway along the route leading to the subsidiary summit there is a junction that branches to the west towards the true summit. This route is only recommended for confident climbers.

Your guide welcomes you at the Pasar Agung Temple parking lot (1,600 m). The hike begins from the parking lot with the ascent of 297 steps to the temple. At the temple gates, the guide makes an offering to the gods to ask their forgiveness and protection for a safe ascent and descent. It is indeed customary for hikers, at this stage, to show respect by lighting a few incense sticks and placing them on one of the sanctuaries, while uttering a short prayer as a sign of respect for the Balinese people and culture.

The trail first circles the temple on the left, passing two water reservoirs from where you have a nice view of the temple. It then crosses a small opening in the woods and immediately enters a very dense and steep tropical forest. The trail climbs abruptly, narrows, surrounded by deep ravines and littered with countless roots of magnificent large trees, which must often be straddled with hands and feet. If you leave around midnight for a summit sunrise, a good torch is absolutely essential to light the trail. A headlamp is more practical as it keeps your hands free.

After about an hour, the forest gradually clears and becomes less dense. Eventually, the trail passes a small concrete dam that channels rainwater from the upper mountainous region into PVC pipes to the reservoirs located just above Pasar Agung Temple. This dam normally marks the first third of the path. Here, the path flattens out for a few meters and offers beautiful views for the return journey.

After a short flatter passage across a small ridge, the path inclines again quite steeply, but this time over the first rocky surfaces. Here, the forest is no longer as dense and each meter of altitude gained offers increasingly beautiful views of Bali below. This section can sometimes be slippery, especially after recent rains. There are several short, steep drops that require your hands for safety, but there is no need to worry. The next section will take approximately one hour of continuous, steep walking, which will end once vegetation has given way to pure volcanic rock surface.

At this point (2,425 m), many choose to continue to the subsidiary summit, which is easier to reach. The last third of the trail leading to it is very steep, rocky, sometimes very slow and often slippery, but it is only a small price to pay for the spectacular landscape that opens up before you in all directions. Two-thirds of Bali, including the coast, as well as the neighboring islands of Lombok, Nusa Lemongan, Nusa Penida and Nusa Dua, lie below you. Then, to the west, all of Bali's mountain ranges, including the imposing volcanoes of eastern Java in the misty distance. Finally, before you, a jagged summit, that of the Agung volcano on the left, separated by a deep volcanic ravine impossible to cross.

The last third of the ascent requires between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes of hard work and focused high-altitude climbing. The last 75 meters are less steep and the path suddenly becomes easier, to your great relief. The view from the subsidiary summit (2,866 m) is simply breathtaking. The volcanic landscape is at its best. Your guide takes the opportunity to make offerings and prayers to the Gods. He thanks them in particular for having protected his group during this ascent, as well as for the joy felt in reaching the crater ridge.

The descent, long and difficult, requires almost as much time as the ascent.

Summit ascent (from Besakih)

Walking time Between 12 and 14 hours return trip

Elevation gain/loss + / - 1,850 m

Summit ascent (from Pasar Agung)

Walking time Between 10 and 12 hours return trip

Elevation gain/loss + / - 1,430 m

Ascent to the subsidiary summit (from Pasar Agung)

Walking time Between 7 and 9 hours return trip

Elevation gain/loss + / - 1,265 m