5 tips for hiking Mount Agung – what to expect
Tips for hiking Mount Agung
We had the option of hiking Mount Agung on our Bali Yoga retreat last year and we had decided to just DO IT – but there was definitely a LOT of apprehension before we set off. We spent most of the week beforehand googling things like “how difficult is it to climb Mount Agung?” and “what to expect when hiking Mount Agung” along with “tips for hiking up an active volcano”. (As an interesting aside, it actually erupted about 3 and a half months after we climbed it – which was a bit mind blowing really!)
I’ve put together a little summary and a bit about what you can expect if you choose to head up the volcano!
5 tips for Hiking Mount Agung
- You definitely need a guide.
The number one tip for hiking Mount Agung is that you definitely need a guide. In the week that we climbed Mount Agung – there were 8 people climbing – so we set off with 2 guides (4 persons per guide), stopping at the base of the mountain before we set off where we had a small ceremony of protection. It’s worth getting a guide from a reputable/recommended company – as it can really make or break your experience. Our guide was fantastic and helped keep the morale up when things got a little tough (and freezing)! The benefit of having a guide is that they obviously know the route, they know the mountain and they know the pace that needs to be maintained to reach the top before sunrise. Many of the guides will pack snacks and coffee for you made by their wives or families – which they carry in their backpacks. Trust me, even an average hot(ish) drink en-route up the Mountain when you are freezing cold is like pure liquid gold. The guides also provided us with headlamps – which are very necessary for the hike up.
- Get some good hiking shoes.
I didn’t have hiking specific boots – so I borrowed a pair from a wonderful yogi who was on the retreat the week before – magically our feet were exactly the same size and the shoes fitted like a glove! (She didn’t make it up the mountain on their trek – so I promised to try my best to take her shoes all the way to the very top! Another yogi also gave me a gorgeous Rose Quartz for the hike – which I kept in my pocket the whole way up!). Many of the other people on our hike up wore regular trainers/running shoes and they seemed to manage OK. I know, personally that I don’t think I would have made it up the mountain without those hiking boots for the grip and support they provided. (thank you Em!!) Mentally it was a huge advantage to have those hiking boots!There are parts of the trek where you are literally scrambling up the side of the mountain on hands and knees (terrifying) and it is very reassuring to know that your shoes are not going to be the thing to let you down, literally. This is also totally dependent on the conditions on the day – but regardless – some of the hike is in a forest canopy so it is wet/damp no matter what the external conditions present.
(Above: part of the forest canopy section – pic by Dan as are some of the other pics in this post!)
- Pack snacks (and water, and a zip lock bag and tissues)
It is a LONG hike. We left our accommodation at 11pm (that’s right) to arrive at the base of the mountain to begin hiking at 1am – to make it up to the top before the 6am-ish sunrise (that’s basically a 5 hour hike on no sleep). Make sure you pack enough water into your bag (I had a 500ml bottle of water and a 500 ml bottle of Pocari Sweat (an electrolyte balancing drink) in my backpack and I had the same that I left in the car at the base of the mountain. Also make sure you pack some snacks as there are a few spots up the mountain where you have to stop/acclimatise and build a fire. I gathered a mix of super “eclectic” health food snacks from the local health shop that I was keen to try – most of which was laughed at by fellow retreaters – because HAVE YOU EVER TASTED SPIRULINA SPICY CRUNCHIES?! No? Me neither! ha!(We had a guide dog that found his way up the mountain alongside us at points and on one of the breaks I offered him and the guide some of my sunflower sticks – which they both turned their noses up at, quite violently – which obviously made our retreaters laugh even more at my snack choice. haha). Anna’s chocolate was the win, if you’re looking for a good go-to-snack! (Just make sure you don’t finish it before you actually reach the mountain in a “snaccident”.
It’s a good idea to try get rid of as many unnecessary papers and packets that could blow around on the mountain – so try and “decant” your snacks into a single zip lock back. It’s also worth having an extra empty zip lock bag to put your used tissues in. And yes, you may need tissues to blow your nose but you may also need some tissues in case of a “wild wee” or… (as I learnt this terminology by the lovely Rachel) – “a wild woo”. I’d delve into this in a bit more detail for you – but you know what they say – WHAT HAPPENS ON THE MOUNTAIN, STAYS ON THE MOUNTAIN and some things shall never be spoken of henceforth.
Bottom line: bring supplies and a small backpack!
- Layer up
It is cold and wet on the way up and down and VERY windy and freezing on the top of the mountain – so wear layers. I had a waterproof-ish outer layer which was a saving grace coming down. It was a super great idea to pack a set of dry clothes into a bag in the car for the car trip home. I was also very jealous of the people who had thought to pack pillows in the car – because by the time you are ready to head home, you are cold, starving and exhausted – and it can be a long trip back home with Balinese traffic.With deciding on what to take up the mountain is also the question of should you bring a “big camera” up Mount Agung?I had my SLR in Bali but opted not to take it on the hike and I am glad I didn’t as it would have been an extra (heavy) thing for my backpack and it would also have given me extra unnecessary panic about falling with it. Dan took her big SLR up the mountain and managed fine with it. For me personally I don’t think any pic that I could take on my “fancy” camera would really adequately capture what it’s like up there. I think for sure you can get some INCREDIBLE shots up there with a fancy camera – but I don’t think my level of camera skill (and dealing with the windy conditions on the top of the mountain) would make it viable for me to take. I took my phone which captured a few snaps.
- KNOW what you are getting yourself into.
This I think is the number one tip I could give you. Which is ironic since if you’ve never hiked it then you won’t be able to know what you are getting into! Know that this is physically and mentally challenging. But also, that if you are fit, healthy, active and have a good dose of adventurous spirit – then definitely achievable. There are parts up this climb where I was VERY nervous and I’m very grateful that we were climbing in 3am pitch black – because I think if I had been able to see the rock face of where we were climbing it may have frozen me in a bit of panic. While I was climbing up, especially near the top – I actually started getting very anxious/nervous about how I was going to make it down.I would love to tell you that I had some very yogic mantra like “THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE IS WITHIN YOU, YOU GOT THIS!” chanting through my head as we ascended – but really what was silently playing in my mind for the most part was, “F*CK. F*CK. F*CK.”I can conclude that the descent was a lot less scary than I thought it would be (although there were some parts that I definitely slid down on my bum). For me, it was way more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge.One of the most surreal parts of the climb for me, was almost near the top – we had been climbing non-stop for a good few hours with our heads down and lamps on. At one point the guide asked us to stop and switch off our headlamps – which we did, and suddenly looked up – and almost around – to see the stars. It is definitely the closest I have ever been to stars and it literally felt like I could put my hands out and touch them. It is indescribable. After this the soft light of dawn starting peeking through and we could begin to make out some clouds – which we were literally looking down on. I think it was this feeling of being physically among the stars and looking down on the clouds as they started to appear in the first inklings of light, that made me realise how freaken high we were, which panicked me for sure.
BUT, there is something to be said about group mentality and cheer. We ended up with 1 guide and 4 of us – who were all racing up to make it up to the top before sunrise. At times when I honestly thought I was too nervous to go any further I had to remind myself that if I stop then the whole group has to stop because the guide can’t leave one person on the mountain by themselves and the group can’t go on further without the guide – so with some team rallying, I just repeated my mantra “F*CK. F*CK. F*CK.” and pushed on.
I am glad I did:
It is definitely a physically, emotionally and mentally challenging experience – worth every single step.
Whatever happens, that mountain will teach you something.
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If you want to join us in the beautiful Bali we have only two spots left for another week-long yoga and self connection retreat from October 27th – 3 November 2018.
Email Anna or I if you want to book one of the last two spots or pop your email in below to hear about dates and locations for the next retreat.
Come conquer Mount Agung with us –
“THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE IS WITHIN YOU. YOU GOT THIS!”