Pura Pucak Mangu on Mt. Catur

"What's the plan for next weekend?" That was a question from a friend after we did Mt. Lesung for the first time a week ago. So during the weekdays I searched for any possibility, and one of the mountain which is still in the same area seems to be good. Plus I found a nice blog about 10 Highest Peaks in Bali.

Just before the weekend come, several friends and their friends decided to join. We set a meeting point in Mambal market at 2am because some friends started from Denpasar, and I  started from Ubud. The market was surprisingly busy at that time of the day.

Mambal early morning market

It wasn't a big problem to find the start point, just in the end of Jl. Pura Pucak Mangu, in the north of Plaga. We started right after we parked our motorbikes. The path is paved, all the way until the top inside the forest. There is one temple on the way, just before the steep part.

Big trees in the dark

The time that I set is actually correct, one hour ride from Mambal, and two hours of hike. But since some of the team are slow, we spent too long time waiting for them. So some of my friends and my self decided to leave them behind.

Few hundreds meter before the top, we saw the glances of the yellow sun. It cheered me up, we ran to the top and arrived just on time for the sunrise.

The sun is almost rising behind a tree

The sunrising above the clouds 

And then I checked the other side of the mountain, the west side. I could see the other mountains and the lake.

Mt. Tapak almost covered by the clouds 

Mt. Batukaru and Mt. Lesung in the west

Lake Bratan in Bedugul area

And then I went back to see the eastern view. Still nice above the clouds.

Amazing colors above the clouds

But a minute after that, everything was covered by the fog. There is no view at all, even after some more friends arrived.

As we shared the breakfast, some monkeys appeared and posing for photos.

Sleepy monkey 

We waited for a couple hours but the fog still stays there. But at least the bright morning sunshine goes though it made an amazing effect into the temple.

I'm posing in the front of Pura Pucak Mangu

After get bored of waiting, we decided  to  go down together. This time we could  enjoy the view of the forest that we passed  on the way up.

Deep forest of Mt.Catur

Big rain forest trees, my friend was in the middle of it

Morning sunshine goes through the gap in the jungle 

Twin big trees on the way, the Balinese beliefs that they have a spirit in it. So don't pee anywhere near those trees that covered by fabric like that.

It takes shorter to get back to the parking area. We decided  to drive down to Plaga and have some food by the big bridge. After lunch, all of my friends went back to Denpasar with the same route, but I went around through Kintamani.

Information :
1. Going there for the first time is possible as it's easy and the path is clear, no junction at all.
2. Bring a torch and jacket if you start in the dark.
3. There are two hutts on the top, enough space to build  up to 4 tents. But respect the temple area!
4. There is another route which is harder, start by the Lake Bratan, will take about 4 hours and very steep, no stairs.
5. The start point is -8.261297,115.210057