Known to the Balinese as gunungan (of the mountains), the upper areas between the village of Pujung and road to Batur are a few scenic mountain locales worth a day’s visit.  Jasan is the woodcarving hamlet where the massive protector spirit carvings made from lychee tree roots known as Boma originate.  Further northward to where the Batur crater becomes visible on the horizon is the village of Sekahan where the best time to visit is Hari Kajeng (every third day) in the Balinese calendar when their colorful and lively rural market opens from 4am and finishes by 9am.  Situated at 1,450 meters above sea level and on the ridge of the caldera overlooking the sacred, still-active volcano of Gunung Batur and Lake Batur is the village of Penelokan (literally ‘look out’ in Balinese) with it’s incredibly scenic views of Gunung Agung to the east and sometimes Lombonk beyond it.  It is well advised to arrive by sunrise or no later than 9am to catch the magnificent sunrise over the vast Batur caldera (it measure around 14km across) before the clouds roll in and obscure the view.

The climate in the elevated areas of this region is remarkably cooler than elsewhere on the island. The rain is a lot less predictable here, especially when you get high up the mountains. When visiting Mount Batukaru, the humidity is particularly high and it rains a lot in this area.