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 Summary: Technically straight forward with steeper rocky sections towards the end (if you choose the more difficult option). Length 35-40 m, Total descent: 1200m.
This ride starts at around 1200 m, at a temple high up the slopes of Mount Agung. The mountain still plays an important role in the lives of people that live near it, and this temple is one of 2 on the mountain itself. The ride starts with a fast winding descent mainly on hard-pack roads and has great views over the salak plantations (a fruit with skin that looks like snake-skin) and the plains that flank the western slopes of the mountain. Having lost a lot of height we find ourselves on an up hill stretch through salak plantations on a mixture of wide and narrow trails lined by fences made out of woven salak tree branches, which mark the boundaries of each plantation. Watch out for the spikes! Eventually you come out on a small tarmac road that contours back along the side of the hill to a convenient location for lunch.
After lunch a sharp but mercifully short uphill section finds us on top of a ridge with stunning views down to the sea and across to the island of Nusa Penida. Here you can take a choice of two runs down to the coast. Both trails follow the tops of ridges and afford great views in all directions. The easier run follows a lower ridge into a valley on a broken tarmac road, the more difficult includes some steep rocky sections and also some narrow ridge-top single track. Your last night is spent in Padang Bai, an un-spoilt sea port with plenty to look at, and a great little secluded bay a short walk from your Hotel, with good snorkelling.
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