3:20am, your guide picks you up. You drive to the caldera in the dark.
By sunrise you're standing on the rim. From here you can see three volcanoes at once: Batur in front of you, Mount Abang to the east, and Agung — Bali's highest point — rising behind everything. Lake Batur below, flat and glassy at that hour.
After the sunrise, a walk through the lava fields to the crater. The landscape is unlike anything else on the island — black rock, no vegetation, the kind of silence that makes you stop talking.
Around midday, the natural hot springs at the base of the volcano. Warm mineral water, mountain views, no crowds.
Then into the jungle on the slopes of Mount Abang, to Bubung Renteng Temple — an old Balinese temple that doesn't make it onto most itineraries. Stone statues, dense forest, no other tourists.
After lunch, the road back passes through traditional Balinese villages and rice paddies. You're back at the hotel by around 2pm.
The rest of the evening is free. Ubud Market is nearby if you want to look around, or the Blanco Renaissance Museum — an eccentric private gallery built inside an old mansion with tropical gardens. Or just walk through Ubud itself.