Bali’s Sacred Mount Agung Closed For Tourist Hikes For 2 Months

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Bali’s highest peak, the sacred Mount Agung, will be closed to the public for the next two months.

Tourists, visitors, and even most local residents will be banned from stepping foot on the mountain as the community conducts a series of ceremonies that are only conducted every ten years. 

Mount Agung is the most spiritually significant natural landmark in Bali. The highest peak of the island, and an active volcano, thousands of tourists embark on the steep ascent to the summit, under the cover of darkness to enjoy the sunrise views every year.

While for many tourists Mount Agung is seen as a volcano to climb, to Balinese Hindus Mount Agung is a powerful and revered landscape that must be honoured and tended to as tradition and religion dictates. 

Mount Agung will be closed to the public from the 1st October to the 30th November, this includes all official and non-marked hiking trails, from all angles of the volcano.

The ceremonies that will take place include Karya Tabuh Gentuh Wana Kertih, Segara Kertih and Nubung Pedashan at Pasar Agung Temple in Sebudi Village. 

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Temple leader Wayan Suara Arsana, told reporters tat the ceremony only takes place every 10 years and requires weeks of preparations and planning.

He explained “This work is done once every 10 years. The last time was held in October 2014. So this is a big ceremony at Pasar Agung Temple.”

Arsana has confirmed that he has written to the all travel agents and licenced hiking guides in Bali regarding the closure. He is hopeful that tourists will respect the temporary closure and ban on activities so that the sanctity of the landscape can be preserved.

He added “I and the [leaders] of Pura Pasar Agung really hope that the entire series of works this year can run smoothly from the beginning to the end.”

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This is not the first, nor the last time Mount Agung will be closed to the public. As a deeply scared landscape ceremonies and rituals are regularly performed at the temples surrounding the volcano, and on the land itself.

For 18th-24th July 2024 Mount Agung was closed for hiking to honor the Purnama Kasa ceremony at Pengubengan Besakih Temple.

In the past, some disrespectful hikers have disobeyed the closures of the hiking trails and decide to attempt to navigate the trails both despite the temporary ban and without a guide.

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Anyone who violates the ban will be held accountable by community and religious leaders in Bali and will bear the responsibility of facilitating the necessary cleansing ceremonies to ensure the sanctity of the land, surrounding temples, and ongoing ceremonies will be maintained. 

For tourists planning visits to Bali in October and November 2024, there may be disappointment that Mount Agung will be closed for hiking. However, Bali’s other famous peaks remain open for hikers and visitors, including Mount Batur and Mount Batukaru. 

In fact, on a clear day, from the summit of Mount Batur hikers are rewarded with exceptional views of Mount Agung not too far in the distance.

Tourists are reminded that it is essential to hire a local guide when hiking any of Bali’s mountains and volcanos, this includes smaller and lesser visited peaks such as Mount Abang and Trunyan Hill. 

Every month, local search and rescue teams are deployed to Bali’s mountains and volcanos to rescue missing hikers.

In almost all cases, the individuals who have become lost or injured on the trails have been hiking without a local guide.

There is a common misconception that since Bali’s peaks are smaller than iconic mountains in the Himalayas, Alps and Andes that the trails are therefore easy.

This is not the case. The trails are not well marked and, in many areas, poorly maintained.

Many hikers choose to embark on the trail under cover of darkness to reach the summit for sunrise, which makes it even easier for inexperienced hikers and those unfamiliar with the trail to wander off-piste, not realizing their error before it is too late.