Hot springs & glamping at Bali’s Lake Batur

Bali is home to four volcanogenic lakes — formed as a result of volcanic activity.

At 16 square kilometres (about the size of 100 standard AFL fields) Lake Batur is the largest, and the most beautiful.

Set inside a volcanic crater riddled with hot springs and overshadowed by the peaks and cliffs of an active volcano, Lake Batur offers a compelling and usual alternative to beachside destinations in Bali. There are a handful of small luxury hotels built into the wall of the crater with mind-blowing lake and mountain views. But if you follow the steep winding road to the base of the crater, you can find lake-front accommodation — small hotels, guest houses and campsites — dotting the east coast. I stayed at N’jung Bali Camp, the first floating tepee property in Bali. Essentially this is a glamping homestay with seven small A-frame huts, three of which are overwater. Every tepee has a private wooden deck with chairs to relax on; inside are mattresses with quality bedclothes, electricity sockets and enough wiggle room to get into bed and store a couple of small backpacks.

“When I was young, I left my home and went to the capital Denpasar to earn money. Most of the time I worked as a driver,” says Komang, the 40-year-old architect, builder and owner. “Sometimes I took tourists to play golf and I thought the game looked very interesting, but I was sad that it was only for the rich. So I told myself one day I would return home to Lake Batur and build my own golf course, but I would make the price cheap so everyone can play.”

What makes Komang’s mini golf course even more special is the way he built it: with his bare hands, without having studied landscape architecture, without even having played a game of golf in his life. “I just looked at photos of golf courses on the Internet for inspiration and built it myself,” he says. “I did the same with my new onsen business.”

There are around a dozen hot spring businesses here, including two public pools that get crowded on weekends and a high-end villas with spring water-fed jacuzzis. But Onsen Bali is unique in that it is the first hot spring venue on Lake Batur where each visitor or group gets a private pool for bathing. From the reception area, a pathway shaded by ferns leads to seven private bathhouses. Each has a gazebo with a table, bench and cushions, a large modern bathroom and toilet, and an oasis-shaped pool pockmarked with boulders that create nooks and crannies where the water’s temperature is either a little hotter or cooler. The views of the lake, volcano and rice fields are mind-blowing, as is the fact that like the mini golf course, Komang created it with nothing but elbow grease and his imagination.

“I have never been to Japan and never bathed in an onsen before,” he says. “I didn’t have an architect. I didn’t even have plans. I just drew it in my head and built it with my hands. That is how we have always done things in Bali.”

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+ N’jung Bali Camp is at Songan Village, Lake Batur, Kintamani. Teepees are $50 per night. For bookings visit Instagram.com/njungbalicamp or call +62 878 6119 4321 using Whatsapp.

+ Onsen Bali is at Central Batur Village, Lake Batur, Kintamani. A two-hour private onsen session is $30 per person with a minimum of two people. To book go to instagram.com/onsenbaliprivatehotspring or call +62 877 6037 4731 on Whatsapp.