Farmers of central and south Bali, which cultivate the lion share of the rice fields in the island of Bali only need to glance up to clouds which hanging around Mount Batur to be reminded of the ultimate origin of the water that flow into their fields and become the lifeline of agriculture in central and south Bali. Yes, in the crater of Mount Batur, stretching over 1,718 hectares is Lake Batur, an immense fresh water lake that is regarded as the ultimate source of water for rivers and springs that provide irrigation water for central and south Bali.

Lake Batur is regarded as the abode of Dewi Danu (goddess of the lake) which controls all the water that flow from this lake hence all the water that flow into the rice fields in central and south Bali. Since the rice fields are greatly depends on flow of water from the lake, the farmers of central and south Bali has a strong relationship with the goddess of the lake, spiritually all the rice fields which draw their water from the lake are belong to the goddess of the lake. This relationship is succinctly defined in a sacred manuscript known as Rajapurana Ulun Danu Batur, which is kept in the temple of the lake, “Because the goddess makes the water flow, those who do not follow her laws may not posses her rice fields”.

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Batur caldera is situated in the north eastern part of Bali Island, and about 70 km north of the capital city of Denpasar. There are six main routes of travel to the caldera that can be attained from Denpasar and one route from Singaraja. The most useable of these is the road from Denpasar to Kintamani passing Bangli city.

Batur caldera is one of the finest calderas in the world, about 13.8 by 10 kilometers ( Van Bemmelen, 1949) with another circular composite collapse structure with a diameter of 7.5 km formed in its center. The rim varies in height from 1267 to 2152 meters (the marginal cone of Mount Agung ). Within caldera is the active strato volcano of Batur volcano and a lake. The highest peak of Batur volcano is about 1717 m above sea level and 686 m above the surface of lake Batur, and is located at 8°14’ 30’’ S and 115°22’30’’ E ( van Padang, 1951 ; Kusumadinata,1979 ).

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Mount Batur Sunrise
Sunday, March 26, 2006.

Morning call woke us up at 3.30 am and we met our local guide at the lobby hotel of Puri Bening Hayato located in Toya Bungkah. We arrived the previous afternoon for a one night stay.

The guide’s name was Nyoman Sumerta and he explained that the trekking to the summit of Mount Batur would take two hours. Mount Batur rises to 1717 meters above sea level. He also told us that the best trekking is in the dry season, April to September. Dry season brings relatively little mist and few clouds and provides a perfect setting for a sunrise view. And it helps that the trails are not muddy and slippery!

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