Mt Batur Sunrise Trek. How I climbed this active vocano?

I was unable to assess my path and almost tripped over a rock. It was completely dark. I was physically exhausted, dehydrated, unable to walk, and above all, it was completely dark.

Yes, it was my first hike popularly known as "Sunrise Trek to Mount BATUR" in BALI.

I cursed myself for reading and seeing all those lovely pictures on the internet and believing that the hike will be an easy stroll.

It was not an easy hike, as mentioned on so many websites; it is difficult for a newbie like me. Though, you do not need prior training to hike the mountain as it is only 2 hr hike.

We were initially divided into a group of 6 members to start the hike. Probably 20 groups were waiting to start the trek from the base of Mount Batur. The hike started exactly at 4.am. in the morning.

We started from Seminayek by 2 am in the morning. Our package includes pickup and drops from our hotel in Seminyak.

Initially, I was excited and was filled with enthusiasm and energy. I was carrying a torchlight and small backpack and started to walk with the group. It was too dark, and we were slowly proceeding towards the mountain, making our way through the rocky trail and jungles.

Slowly, my pace decreased. I started to feel a sharp pain in my leg; I wanted to stop the hike. I found a rock and sat there for minutes. There were other groups too taking rest. Again we started to walk, forming a single line up the narrow switchbacks.

Suddenly, it was only my husband and me alone on the hiking trails. Thanks to my pace, I could not match with my fellow groups. We were left-back.

After some time, we could see a faint light. We understood the sun is about to rise from its horizon. We do not want to miss this, after all these physical exhaustion.

We were lost, don't know where to go, hear voices of people on the top who had already reached and waiting for the sunrise.

We could not see any path or trail but a steep rocky slope in front of us. Then we saw a dog, out of no-where, the dog appeared and started to hike the hill. We literally followed him. It was feeling like I was climbing a mountain, like a mountaineer. Somehow, in the end, I used all my energy to reach the top. It was a feeling before reaching your finishing line though my husband reached the top before me and held my hand and dragged me to the top.

Finally, I made it; we made it.

We witnessed a fantastic sunrise at the summit. I thank god that I made the decision and hiked Mt Batur to see this incredible sunrise. The view was mesmerizing.

As we reached late, there were already 100s of people waiting on a cliff, and there were vendors selling tea, drone shot was going on, too chaos. Too many things were happening together at the same moment.

It would be best if you learned to ignore all this chaos and enjoy the views.

I realized trekking to Gunung Batur is not hard. When you feel that your muscle has almost given up, you have already reached the summit.

It was my favorite experience in Bali, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

The blog was first published on www.littletravelings.com