Kintamani

Kintamani is one of the most favorite tourist destinations in Bali with the active volcano of mount Batur and the beautiful lake. Mount Batur is located at Kintamani and it has erupted about 24 times since 1800 and still active up to now. Lake Batur is the biggest lake in Bali. You can climb to the summit of Mount Batur, which is 1,700 meters high, and takes about 2 hours, although we only viewed the volcano from the road.
The mountainous region around Kintamani, centering on the spectacular volcanic caldera of Mt Batur with its deep crater lake and bubbling hot springs, is rugged with a high and wild beauty. Wonderful mountain air and dizzying views in all directions, as well as several important temples, are what makes Kintamani one of the most memorable stops in Bali. Mount Batur is actually just a small volcano, but its setting is in the heart of a huge crater 14km in diameter. Adjacent to the volcano is the large crescent-shaped Batur Lake, all surrounded by the high walls of the crater rim. The volcano is still active today. In 1917 it claimed thousands of lives and destroyed hundreds of temples. Other eruptions have taken place since, forcing the local population to be relocated, along with several of their temples including one of the main Bali temples, Pura Ulun Danu. Initially inside the huge crater, this temple has been relocated to the top of the ridge overlooking it.
There are several options for getting there, including tour busses and taxis. We rented a car and driver for the entire day for about 30USD. The drive from the southern areas of the island takes a little more than an hour. Asri had one of her profile pictures taken here with the volcano behind her, so this was a must see in order to get pictures of us together. If you are in Bali this is well worth the drive to see an active volcano, and also to see some of the countryside along the way.

It's a beautiful place, i suggest to come during the light time, as it's usually cloudy and foggy in the morning and late afternoon so u can't really see everything. Dont forget to go down near the lake, the view surround it is very very beautiful, with volcano rocks.

Kintamani is great for day trips, trekking or simply for getting away from it all for a few days. At Penelokan you can view the panorama of Mount Batur set in a huge volcanic crater basin. Stop here on the way to Singaraja to climb to peaceful Pura Tegeh Kuripan. Try to arrive at Kintamani in the morning, as it's often overcast in the afternoon, especially during the rainy season.

The volcano at Kintamani was impressive but not the highest on the island. The volcanic cone is a mountain called Gunung Batur (Mt. Batur).

Literally a volcano within a volcano, visitors can drive along the rim of a 8km wide caldera while looking across the still active Mt. Batur still spouting lava and slowly building new height.

You can have lunch at a restaurant 400 metres up a mountain which had a great view over the volcano.

If you've always wanted to walk around inside the crater of an active volcano, here's your chance. Mt. Batur is 1,717 m high, but the upper cone itself is only several hundred meters above the level of the lake and can be climbed and descended in a few hours. At the top, there's a warm crust of ground over the cauldron. Be sure to hire a guide, as it can be dangerous.

While in Bali we went to Kintamani for a day trip. The scenery was of course beautiful but the thing I remember most is a very young local child coming up to me trying to sell me carved pencils. They were the most gorgous things I had ever seen and was bargining with him... I had only been there a day so was still trying to get used to the local currency and the conversion rates...mmm...6000 sounded so much! In the end the poor boy left rather annoyed with me, and I left rather annoyed with myself. My husband precceded to tell me I was bargining over 5cents and was the biggest "tight ass". When I return in November I am going back to Kintamani and will buy 100 of those pencils... I just hope I meet the same young boy..I will tip him.