I think there is no doubt that Bali is the absolute TOP when it comes to travel destinations of recent years. It doesn’t surprise me at all – amazing culture, paradisiacal beaches, helpful locals, delicious food, wildlife…. exactly. Nature. Kintamani is a district in Bali where nature is loved and hated at the same time. If you are planning to visit this area while in Bali, be sure to read this post! I guarantee that I will give you knowledge that can influence your future decisions!
What is in the Kintamani region of Bali?
Volcano
The main attraction that has been attracting tourists to these areas for years is the still active stratovolcano, with the slightly off-putting name Batur. It’s true that its height is only 1,717 m above sea level, but the views from the top are spectacular, like from Everest. I’m not exaggerating, and I’ll even prove it to you later!
Batur is not the highest peak in Bali. Higher than it is Agung, which is just over 3,000 m above sea level. It so happens that you can also climb the Agung volcano, but be careful – this peak is considered one of the most difficult and demanding peaks in Indonesia. At that moment, I felt that I was not physically ready for such a challenge.
Hot springs
Where are volcanoes, there are hot springs. Unfortunately, the ones near Kintamani in Bali do not have the best reputation. First of all, it’s about neglected infrastructure, dirt and not at all warm water.
In the end, we decided not to visit the nearby „thermal baths” due to many negative opinions. Nothing discourages me more from visiting such places than comments referring to dirt, mold and slippery, green tiles. Additionally, to be honest, the weather was bad that day. It was cloudy and windy, and it sprinkled several times during the day. I didn’t want to risk sinusitis, which has been occurring regularly for several years.
*When reading reviews on Google Maps, I always advise you to check the latest entries! Some properties have reviews from many years ago and the level of service offered may have changed dramatically in the meantime.
Lake (Danau Batur)
Mountains and lake in one… my favorite combination! I guess that’s why I remember my stay in Kintamani so fondly. I only regret the condition of the water in the lake, which unfortunately is not the cleanest. As it happens in Bali, contaminated water is to be expected here as well.
Village under the volcano
There is a village under the volcano, which took its name from the entire region. The vast majority of hotels, hostels and homestays are located right under the volcano, on the paths leading to the summit. Many facilities are new, freshly built bungalows and apartments with almost luxurious infrastructure around. Many places are still under construction, which gives a clear signal that interest in the area is growing. New facilities meet the expectations of even the most demanding tourists, for little money.
There are not many restaurants in the village, but you certainly won’t go hungry during your stay. We ate the most delicious meal at ALAM Warung by NUSA Kitchen, where we were accompanied by cats during dinner 😉
Prices in local Warungs (read: restaurants) are rather low and you can eat a tasty dinner from about 2,30 EUR per person.
If you need to stay in a nice, Instagram cafe, I recommend driving to the part of the town on the hill. There, you will find the AKASA Specialty Coffee, from which you will have a wonderful panorama of the volcano and the entire surrounding area.
How to get to Kintamani in Bali?
Here, the easiest way is to hire a driver who will take you to the indicated address. Very often, this service is offered by the hotels where you have booked accommodation. This was also our case. The driver came to the address we provided, picked us up and took us directly to the hotel. I won’t hide the fact that travel prices are not the lowest.
The amounts we paid for the routes (rate as of 18/11/23):
- Ubud – Kintamani -> 400 000 IDR, ok. 23,00 EUR
- Kintamani – Lovina -> 550 000 IDR ok. 32,00 EUR ((We also had an offer from outside the hotel for IDR 500,000).
Additionally, I must mention that Grab is not particularly popular in Bali – according to locals, its prices are too low. In short, you have little chance of finding transport there, especially during the peak season. I recommend installing the InDrive application, where you can negotiate prices with the driver. The application is extremely useful in Bali and Thailand.
Another way is to rent scooters, but in our case there was no option. Moreover, Kintamani is a mountainous region where the roads are winding, narrow and crowded. I would be afraid to travel on a scooter.
If you have a question in your mind why we didn’t use some form of public transport, let me quickly answer the question. Because there is none. Bali is extremely crowded and congested. There are practically no buses here, and the only means of transport are private vans and buses that run to the most popular and largest towns.
How to enter the main attraction of Kintamani?
Being in Kintamani and not climbing Mt. Batur is absolutely inappropriate ;). Let’s start with the fact that you can only climb the volcano with a guide. You can’t do it on your own. Or at least, you can’t do it legally.
Below I present the offer of one of the companies. According to the information in the graphic:
- The price varies depending on the number of people in the group (1 person – IDR 700,000, approx. 40,50 EUR), the more people in the group, the cheaper it is,
- There is an additional fee of 150,000 IDR per person (approx. 8,70 EUR) if you want to use the hot springs after trekking (1 person – 700,000 IDR, approx. 40,50 EUR)
- The tour price includes a private guide, mineral water, breakfast at the top of the mountain, a flashlight, entry tickets, trekking poles (if needed),
- You can enter at any time, but the vast majority of tourists decide to enter in the morning for the sunrise. Start time is around 3:45 a.m. from your hotel or a previously agreed place,
- Trekking to the top takes about two hours. At the top you have as much time as you need – you will have time to eat breakfast, enjoy the views and take beautiful photos,
- The return time is around 9:00, and going down is much faster than going up 😉
What is trekking to the volcano like?
We decided to enter in the morning. We set our alarms for 3:00 a.m. so we could eat a light breakfast and drink a cup of coffee. Asians believe that trekking is successful when you can admire the rising sun. In this case I’m not surprised, the views were spectacular!
We booked our trip through our hotel Oemah Batur. A nice, intimate facility, with a swimming pool and tasty breakfasts. It’s located on the way to the volcano, so we arranged to meet there with a guide. After a short introduction and conversation, we set off.
The entrance is short but intense. For lazy people, there is a possibility of partial entry by scooter, but I assume that you don’t plan to use this option. Such services survive mainly thanks to lazy tourists from other parts of Asia.
From the halfway point, the path gets steeper and steeper. On the route, it’s easy to slip on small stones and trip over the slightly larger ones. This is definitely a passage where you can get tired and out of breath. I know something about that ;). Without letting anyone know, I trudged up the hill with the feeling that I was about to spit out my lungs.
How to prepare for entry?
- First of all: warm layered clothing. I have never been as cold as in Bali while traveling in Asia! It was extremely cold and windy at the top of the volcano, even though we started the trek in short sleeves. At the top, you usually have to wait a while for the sunrise. You’ll definitely get hot on your way to the top, but you’ll be sweaty later. Combined with a strong and piercing wind, you are guaranteed to freeze. Be prepared well! For this occasion, the guides offer you breakfast and, for an additional small fee, warm tea and blankets (have some cash with you),
- Good shoes – I have scored several times tripping/slipping on gravel. Trekking shoes as advisable as possible,
- In addition to the water provided by the guide, I recommend taking with you another drink that will quench your thirst better. Maybe orange juice, isotonic drink or water with electrolytes,
- A good camera, because the views will be spectacular.
Didn’t I tell you the views would be spectacular?! Mount Batur absolutely amazed me. We were also quite lucky, because the higher the sun rose, the better the weather became. Clouds and mist slowly revealed the view of the valley, and the sun cast a golden light.
The dark side of Kintamani in Bali
Okay, it’s been nice, but it’s time to get down to earth a bit. It might seem that Kintamani is another paradise region on the map of Bali, right? I won’t call it a paradise. Unfortunately, several details made our stay unpleasant.
Probably, many people reading this entry will think that I am exaggerating or I was unlucky. No problem, maybe that’s actually the case. I simply wouldn’t want to write „I told you so…” in the comments later or not warn you at all and build a magical bubble of paradise around Bali.
Flies
Ab initio. We go to Kintamani from crowded but gorgeous and soulful Ubud by pre-booking a car with a driver. The road was long and winding, but interesting. From behind the car window we could admire the peaceful life of the inhabitants of the non-touristy regions. Closer to the destination, the landscape became more and more mountainous.
When we arrived, we felt a lower, much more pleasant temperature. The hotel was nice, the hosts were polite. The views from the garden were beautiful! Only one thing struck me. In my mind I asked myself: „Do I stink that flies fly at me like that?” I know that R. also asked himself this question in his mind, and I saw a grimace of doubt on his face.
We weren’t the problem. There were flies literally everywhere. They flew and sat on people, taking advantage of every opportunity and moment of inattention. For the next three days, the flies accompanied us in every possible outdoor activity.
The problem was so big that while eating, I used only one hand, because with the other I was constantly chasing away flies. They sat everywhere – on me, on the plate, on the glass. In the hotel, at the tables where meals were served, there were fly repellents hanging around, which didn’t do much. One day, R. found a dead fly in rice…
The inhabitants of the region have become accustomed to this situation. They didn’t care about the flies crawling all over their bodies, even their faces. When we asked why there were so many flies, they replied that these were rural areas, harvest and there must be flies. According to the comments I read on booking portals and Google Maps, the problem with flies is almost permanent here.
Spiders
Where there are flies, spiders are in a real paradise. I don’t even know if I can find the words to adequately describe the scale. I’ll share with you a link to a video that will show you what I mean. Click HERE and come back to me soon!
These views were my little daily routine. There were spiderwebs everywhere – on trees, power lines, between houses. In fact, the entire village is covered in cobwebs. Only accommodation owners remove them from their premises so as not to scare tourists.
To make matters worse, according to the information I received, the young of these spiders can move with the wind on their woven webs. They literally float on the wind in order to expand their territories. Flying spiders are exactly what I missed during this trip… It’s worth adding that all these giants are female! Males don’t grow nearly as big.
I won’t hide the fact that the sights in the village initially terrified me. I saw larger spiders only in Guinea-Bissau. And in general I don’t have arachnophobia, but I don’t like spiders, especially this size. We spent three nights in the village and the fact is that we never noticed a spider that was not on a web. Well, they are not a real threat to humans and if you stay away from places where they gather, you have nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, the sight is frightening. If you suffer from arachnophobia, prepare yourself decently for a trip to these areas. If the sights you will find there will be too much for you – consider whether you are ready for it.
Wasps
There was clearly a nest of unpleasant flying creatures near our hotel. I called them black wasps because that’s what they looked like, although they were closer in size to European hornets. Fast, aggressive and nosy – many times I ran away from them in panic because the last thing I wanted was to be stung. According to residents, the sting is not dangerous to humans, but painful. I assume it may be different if an allergic reaction occurs.
We saw wasps mainly near our hotel and near the main road. While trying to rest by the hotel pool, one almost sat on my back. This was a sign that I would definitely not rest here. Now I can also mention that all the flying insects were also part of the reason why we didn’t go to the hot springs – relaxing among flies and wasps was not possible for me.
Summary Kintamani, Bali – is it worth it?
Kintamani in Bali is a beautiful region, there is no doubt about it. The landscape is phenomenal, trekking to the Batur volcano was a beautiful adventure. If you are considering coming here, I think it’s worth it. The views compensate for the discomfort caused by the inconveniences I described above. BUT! I suggest spending one day here, max. two nights. Climbing Batur early in the morning does not limit you to leaving on the same day. If you return from trekking around 9:00, then at 12:00 you can easily move on with a hired driver. We booked three nights blindly and the truth is that on the last day we didn’t have much to do. And the frustration of having to constantly swat away flies was immense!
I must point out that the situations described were my experiences. Perhaps, during your stay, there will be no more flies, wasps will be eradicated, and spiders will find another home. In any case, I keep track of what is happening around the volcano and I know that the above problems still occur.
If you want to know more about animals and insects that you can meet in Asia, I suggest you read THIS POST. I included the most important information about fauna, which may one day save your health or life!
