The nature and culture of Bali for millions of years both harmoniously gave birth to the landscape and the beauty of nature and its unique and interesting culture. One of them is the Mount Batur area in Kintamani, Bangli, Bali. The landscape, the traces of geological and archeological heritage, social life, and cultural uniqueness are very distinctive and unique. Batur Caldera, one of the largest and most beautiful caldera in the world. Thus a Dutch geologist named Van Bemmelen (1949) expressed it, Bemmelen was so impressed with the beauty of Lake Batur. Lake Batur is shaped like a crescent area of ??16 square kilometers, which is located on the east and southeast sides of the caldera and is at an altitude of about 1,030 meters above sea level (masl).
From some information, it is mentioned that Mount Batur which was formed today is the result of several eruptions that occurred since prehistoric times to history. These eruptions are now forming beautiful strokes such as the creative hand carvings of the Balinese on the body of the mountain.
You can leave after midnight, our professional crew from the Java Private Tour will pick you up and glide away from the silence of the night then head to Kintamani, Gunung Batur Nature Tourism Park. In less than two hours, we will arrive at the Mount Batur Climbing Service Post parking lot in Pekraman Village, Batur. Usually the Java Private Tour crew will start climbing at three in the morning.
After passing through residents' houses and forests, the climbing terrain is increasingly open. Although not too high, the black shadow of Mount Batur is seen standing proudly stretched. Whereas on the other hand, the shadows of Lake Batur look a bit radiant by the reflection of the lights from several villages around the lake. Not only that, on the edge of the lake there are also a number of temples that can be visited. Some of them have even been designated as archeological sites.
Mount Batur is one of the fragments of the world ring of fire on the island of Bali. Although the height is only around 1,700 meters above sea level, but its charm and appeal is impossible to miss for anyone who is visiting Kintamani. Mount Batur, has a complete landscape and geological value. The landscape of natural history is very closely related to human history and the earth. Even according to geologists and volcanologists, this region is very rich in geological sites. Geological footprints are so strongly etched on cliffs, caldera mouths, canyons, valleys, and folds of rock in every corner. Including the cultural heritage that surrounds it, until now it has been maintained, growing and developing.
Examples are: Trunyan Village with its original community, Bali Aga, they have their own rituals in terms of treating relatives or family members who have died, usually the Trunyan community performs burial by placing corpses on the ground and fenced in by "serving food" made of woven bamboo. The Trunyan tree that grows there, is believed to be a key or neutralizer so that the bodies there do not smell bad even if placed on the ground. Seeing the above, it is not surprising that UNESCO established the Batur region and its surroundings as part of the Global Geopark Network in September 2012 as the World Earth Park Network. Since then the name of Mount Batur increasingly worldwide.
After we hike for about two and a half hours splitting the night against the cold, early that morning, around 5 am, we will arrive at the peak area. It will be seen that it's quite crowded by the climbers who have arrived before us, the area around the summit is quite wide and there are some simple wooden walled buildings that are usually used as a place to rest and cook food and soft drinks.
As time goes on, the atmosphere of the peak will be increasingly crowded, spreading at three points. At that time, climbers and visitors 95 percent were foreign tourists. All await the magical moments of the rising sunrise. It appears, in the distance, Mount Abang and Mount Agung which also stand proudly across Lake Batur. When the time for sunrise will come soon. It was almost 6 o'clock in the morning local time, we and all visitors simultaneously set up their respective cameras to document it. Slowly, the sun moved up, emerged from one side of Mount Batur and Mount Agung across the lake, these are exotic and beautiful moments are charming.
Next, not to be missed is to admire the beauty of the landscape landscape of Mount Batur. Contrary to the direction from when you started climbing, walking around the caldera through the Dragon Neck Path is the best choice. Batur really shows his charm. The folds of rocks, hills, walls and caldera, lakes and colorful lava rocks all look amazing. Seen in the distance, at the bottom of the caldera there are folded hills appearing between the black sand and lava. Like walking on the surface of the moon that you usually see in documentaries or films. Although the height of the mountain is less than 2000 meters, down Mount Batur is not as easy as we think. Descend from the summit through the Dragon Neck Path after tracing ravines and cliffs, then the terrain is quite steep, sandy and rocky. Arriving below, then you can see the majesty figure of Mount Batur. It looks big without any vegetation. Like a giant mound of bare stones. At the top, visible from below where we stood, a large hole opened facing the sky.
Not only climbing tours, enjoying the beauty of Lake Batur can also try bathing in the Toya Bungkah hot spring, or to the cone shaped rock mounds, one of the geological sites in the world earth park area can be your next choice.
Mount Batur Museum which is located not far from the location of the climbing point can be your closing climb. Here, you can find out answers about the geological footprint of Batur. You can watch first hand the history of the eruption of Mount Batur which is rotated twice a day.
Anyone who has climbed Mount Batur will surely be amazed. Its geological footprint lay within a broad caldera. The story implies that in the past there was a huge volcano. When a huge eruption tore apart part of mountain body, a beautiful broad caldera was born. In each corner, the Batur Caldera tells the story of earth's history. The history of life formed thousands of years ago.
The rocks that lay spread to witness the development of life around Batur. Admiration for Mount Batur will never be exhausted. A piece of the ring of the world's fire was presented by it. Presenting the geological history of the archipelago. World Earth Park in the heart of the Island of the Gods, the great masterpiece of the Gods.
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