Covering an area of roughly 11 square miles, Danau Batur is the biggest of Bali’s four mountain lakes. It fills the southeastern part of the massive eight-mile long Batur caldera, which also contains Mt Batur, the most active volcano on the island.
The lake is revered by Pura Ulun Danu Batur, the second most significant temple on Bali, which sits on the crater rim and is devoted to the Goddess of the Lakes, Ulun Danu. The original temple used to be at the lakeside but had to be moved, along with the village of Batur, after an eruption of Mt Batur in 1926.
Danau Batur lies 1,640 feet below the crater edge and is fed by 11 springs. The villages surrounding the lake are named bintang danu which translates ‘stars of the lake’. The lakeside can be accessed from the crater rim via the village of Penelokan, a scenic drive on a descending windy road.
At first it seems pretty strange to be inside an enormous volcanic crater adjacent to a freshwater lake at the side of which people are tilling their fields. The nearly two-mile drive takes you in no time to the lakeside where you have two options for accommodation; either turn right to Buahan and the Baruna hotel, or go left to some guest houses near Kedisan. The major trekking point, Toya Bungkah, has more lodging facilities and is about three miles past the junction to the northeast.
Getting There & Away
Penelokan is situated 15 miles from Bangli and 40 miles from Denpasar, the site of Bali’s international airport. The most popular way to access the area is by bemo from Denpasar’s Batulaban Station to Bengli and then travel directly to Penelokan. It is also possible to catch a minibus from Singarajah in Bali’s north.