The basic trek is to start climbing from Toya Bungkah at about 3am, reach the summit for sunrise, and possibly walk right around the main cone, then return to Toya Bungkah.
The route is pretty straightforward - walk out of the village towards Kedisan and turn right just after the car park. After about 30 minutes you'll be on a ridge with a well-defined track; keep going up. It gets pretty steep towards the top and it can be hard walking over the loose volcanic sand.
Allow about two hours to reach the top, which is at the northern edge
of the inner crater.
Climbers have reported that they've easily made the journey without a HPPGB guide, though it shouldn't be tried while dark. The major obstacle is actually avoiding any hassle from the guides themselves.
You can follow the rim to the western side, with a view of the area of the most recent volcanic activity, continue to the southern
edge, and then return to Toya Bungkah by the route you climbed up.
Longer trips go around the recent volcanic cones southwest of the summit. This has the most exciting volcanic activity, with smoking craters, bright-yellow sulphur deposits, and steep slopes of fine black sand. If the activity is too exciting, the area may be closed for trekking, although the summit can still be OK.
Climbing up Gunung Batur, spending a reasonable time on the top and then strolling back down takes four or five hours; for the longer treks around the newer cones, allow around eight hours.
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