The big problem with Indonesia and Bali, especially, is that tourists are the perfect targets for extra-charges. They are indeed responsible for their own doom, as they are flocking in big numbers to the island, norturing the greedy thirst for money of local dwellers.
Strictly speaking, guides are not imposed by the Indonesian government, except for some specific mountains such as such as Mount Gede, Rinjani, Semeru, Salak, Merapi and Merbabu, etc.
In Bali, instead, there are no peaks where a guide should be compulsory by law. They are just enforced by the local communities in order to make the most of tourist afflux and earn a living in the absence of proper employment. In other words, it is the local code or the local cartel. Even easy hikes like Batur mountain (4-5 total hours walk to 1.717 m height), might become a nightmare for independent travellers. Although I have personally never tried it, many cases of harassment have been largely reported on the web. It is the mafia system.
That is deeply dispiriting for people wishing to carry out treks in a spontaneous, autonomous and hassle-free way.
This is why I feel the urge now to narrate my personal adventure related to Gunung Agung.
You have several ways to tackle this hike, both in terms of time and paths. Since I had a long weekend off, I decided to devote 3 days to the expedition, starting from Legian-Kuta. You can technically complete the task in 2 rushy days though. I would not advise that.
The second variable is the chosen path, all from the Southern slope:
- Pura Pasar Agung way, the “shortest” one, where you have 3.9 Km to the summit with about 1600 mt height spread to cover. Quite tough though.
- Pura Penataran – Edelweiss way, starting from Besakih village, where you have 5.7 Km to the peak with about 1900 mt height spread to cover. Long and arduous.
- Pura Pengunbengan way, starting from Besakih village, where you have 6 Km to the top (thus 12 in total) with about 1900 mt height spread to ascend. The longest trail.
Myself I went for the last option, as I wanted to sleep in a homestay in Besakih, where you may have good rest and shops to buy food. I thereby spread my trip in 3 days as follows.
DAY 1 – FROM LEGIAN TO BESAKIH
In order to avoid the annoying traffic in Southern Bali, I left from my house around 5 am. I was renting a 150 cc scooter, so no need for taxis or drivers. Cheap and smooth. At that hour almost nobody on the road. I could manage to reach Besakih (approx. 60 Km) in around 2 hours driving carefully. I had already booked in advance the most inexpensive homestay I could find on Booking.com, Candra Homestay. You can either reserve it through the web (250 000 IDR / night). Or possibly you could save some money by directly writing to them on whatsapp on +62 81338453388. They are very nice and helpful.
They have tiny, “tent -style”, wooden lodges more than comfortable for a couple of nights. They were the cheapest I could find. If you are planning to hike in weekends or high season, better to book in advance however (besides you only have 4 or 5 homestays in all the village). They also offered me welcoming coffee and a lent sarong to freely sneak in from a side entrance to the Pura Besakih temple just nearby (do not pay the absurd 150 000 IDR requested at the main entrance please :). Plus my room was ready at 10 am, 4 hours before official check-in time. In addition, there is a nice and low-cost warung (local eatery) just 50 meters uphill open from 12 to 8 pm.
Service information: small shops and eateries are open until 7 or max 8 pm. If you need to buy water and snacks for the volcano ascent, better to arrange everything before 7 pm. I used 3 liters of water myself plus several snacks. Evidently, in this small village purchase choices are quite limited : )) The other option is to buy supplies in big supermarkets on the way or before departure.
When investigating around after my arrival, everybody was already discouraging me about hiking the volcano alone (“forbidden”).
Sometimes they used the “holy mountain” excuse; other times the “safety” reason; others the “dead bodies rescue” costs and efforts; and finally the “community benefits”. Everything reasonable but not perfectly “legal” and transparent.
The cost for a guide is furthermore blurry. If you are alone at least 1,300,000 IDR (75 Euros more or less), but it can go up to 2,000,000 IDR (115 Euros more or less). What was not clearly understood is that, apparently, even if you are multiple people in the group, still the guide charges you per person, and not less than 2,000,000 IDR in total for the group. For two people around 1,500,000 IDR (85 Eur) are asked in total.
That being said, I decided to exercise my rights and try to ascend the volcano alone, at night and self-guided.
DAY 2 – FROM BESAKIH VILLAGE TO PURA PENGUNBENGAN AND THE SUMMIT
It is warmly recommended to hike at night for four simple reasons:
- it is fresher;
- you reach the summit for sunrise with a stunning view on Rinjani Mt, Lombok;
- the descending path “looks” a bit different and more enjoyable (hard though);
- it might get cloudy and rainy even in late morning, with viewing and walking impairment.
This is why you need a headlight and start your hike not later than 1 am.
Arriving by scooter to Besakih, you have the unquestionable advantage of being independent. It takes 20 min to drive the 4 Km to the Pura Pengunbengan temple, amid the frequent, agressive stray dogs. Be careful if you decide to walk at night in the village.
Once reached the place, you will be immediately halted by some dubious boys standing there and asked for your intentions and whether you have a guide. There is no trekking registration, no entry ticket, no parking receipt, nothing. They just extorted me some “under the counter” money to let me go without problems. In the end, all included (entrance not due, parking maybe due and “guideless permit”) gave 500,000 IDR (28 Eur). Although I suppose you could fight more acrimoniously, if you are alone, at night and eager to start your journey, you do not wish to push more. Eventually I was let in guide-free. I yielded. Maybe you may negotiate harder though, not sure.
It then takes about 5 hours to climb up a quite easy-to-follow trail in the middle of a thick vegetation until almost the very end. You start to see more people towards the summit. Along the way, you could enjoy instead a soothing sense of night freedom.
If you like the idea, several campsites are also available every kilometer or so. Some people use them, albeit not necessary.
Due to a two-sided precipice, the last 500 meters become a bit more disquieting. Just be vigilant. You will have people to follow at any rate.
The satisfaction of reaching the summit alone, self-guided, at night and for sunrise is definitely peerless.
You will have however to share that moment with some more people, especially from June to September. Nevermind.
Going down for me was the real pain for the steep inclination affecting knees, toes and nails. So take into account 4 to 5 hours again.
By 12 pm I was back to my homestay for resting and eating.
DAY 3 – FROM BESAKIH TO LEGIAN
After spending two nights in the village (main attractions there are the Pura Besakih temple and Agung volcano) you may slowly check out and take your way back to crowded Southern Bali. Driving time is longer during daylight, of course.
All in all a great experience with very amazingly emotional and suffering moments which will accompany you for quite some time.
Feel free to write and share your comments, if anything has changed meanwhile.
You lost me at “aggressive straydogs” 😉
Woww! Thanks for sharing I would like to try oneday! Good job man!
My pleasure!
Do you know about the other trails. I mean if all of them are guarded by local mafia called “local guides”?
Sorry for late reply Marek, well, Bali is quite crapy, all other Indonesian islands have free accesses…it is because of massive tourism and money greed : ))