Mount Merapi (Sumatra)
Mount Merapi (Sumatra)

Mount Merapi (Sumatra)

Page Type Page Type: Article
Activities Activities: Hiking

Overview

Mount Merapi (not to be confused with the homonymous volcano in Java) is a complex volcano located in West Sumatra. Its lower slopes are covered by a buxom rainforest and higher near its top an extraterrestrial-like volcanic plateau and great views are to be marveled at. It bears the great honor of being regarded as the most active volcano in Sumatra. It is currently (as for May 2016) erupting and has been in a state of alert since 2011. It also bears yet another honor of being celebrated as the first settlement of the local Minangkabau people, according to a legend narrating of an ark of their ancestors landing upon its top after some sort of cataclysm, in the exact same fashion as Deucalion landed upon Parnassus, Noah upon Ararat and every other corresponding hero of the Eastern Mediterranean mythology upon a mountain or another. There is one main route (a second, much longer and demanding one has been opened recently ascending from the north and it's rarely used) ascending up to the crater complex from the west slope of the mountain. The trail is straightforward and extremely easy to follow, making it possible for anybody to climb independently. It should take anywhere between 4 and 8 hours to reach the crater complex. The highest point of the mountain, Puncak Garuda, lies in dense forest at the northeastern extension of the mountain and there is no trail leading thither. Thus, most commonly people will only reach as far as the crater complex.

Getting There

The closest major transport-hub to the mountain is the city of Bukittinggi. From the center of the city, you should change two mini-buses, paying 8000 IDR in total, to reach Koto Baru village. The trailhead is situated a few km outside the village and a hired motorbike will get you there in under 15 m for 10000IDR.

Reaching by own means, you take the main road leading south towards Padang. Once in Koto Baru, after some 12 km, you take a left (-0.391779 100.402122), some few meters after the first mosque you'll encounter in the village, and an immediate right. You keep driving through plantations and up the low slopes for a few km till the end of the road, where a small registration office and the trailhead (-0.393803 100.412964) are.

Route

The first part of the trail runs along a dirt-road through farmlands. Soon after the point it goes past a small, wooden, green hut, you'll be passing across a small bridge made of a bundle of bamboo reeds. That's where you enter the forest. The trail keeps ascending in a staright east line and cannot be missed. At ca 2400 amsl, it exits the forest and keeps ascending straight east through rocky/sandy volcanic terrain till it comes onto the plateau.

Red Tape

No guide is required, nor for any reason useful. A small fee of 10000 IDR is to be paid at the registration office. That fee might tentatively be augmented for foreigners. They asked me for 40000 IDR in the beginning, but after I told them that I'd rather pay 10, they show no objection.

Camping

There are plenty of camping spots all along the trail within the forest, and sufficient for an entire regiment at the top. There are quite a few water sources in proximity to the trail, the last of which at ca 1700 amsl.

External Links

My account on climbing Mount Merapi



Images

View Mount Merapi (Sumatra) Image Gallery - 1 Images

Comments

Post a Comment
Viewing: 1-7 of 7
yatsek

yatsek - Jun 30, 2016 5:36 am - Hasn't voted

Duplicate

I'm afraid this is a duplicate (please see here) and will have to be deleted.

DimitriosFan

DimitriosFan - Jun 30, 2016 6:20 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

Oh, I see. That means that two mountain/rock articles may not be handling the same object notwithstanding their titles being different? I'm afraid I have two more of the kind besides the one you mention. Should I delete them altogether?

The Elves - Jun 30, 2016 6:56 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

It is SP policy to have no more than one page for a specific Mountain/Rock (or Route, or Area and so on). When we (the elves) see a duplicate, we usually
- inform the member who posted the duplicate, and
- change the page type, typically to 'Custom Object', or
- delete the page


However, you don't necessarily have to delete your page. You are more than welcome to post a Trip Report. As these are about your own experience, they are never considered duplicates. And in a Trip Report you are free to incorporate all the practical details that you want, even if that means it contains everything that might fit in a Mountain/Rock page.

Another option, if you're focusing on a specific aspect, is to write an Article. To give an example, there is a Mountain/Rock page for Mount Rainier as well as an Article So, you want to climb Mt Rainier..

Scott

Scott - Jun 30, 2016 2:50 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

Don't delete the page yet.

I actually wrote the information on the other Merapi page, in order to help out the owner. I had permission to use information from a guidebook author and whom was also my canyoneering partner for years and I used his information. Personally, I regret the decision since SP is supposed to be about 1st hand information only.

The original owner doesn't speak English and could only write a couple sentences on that page. The page doesn't have my name on it since I haven't climbed that peak, but I have been in the vicinity.

The page still hasn't been edited since then. You may be able to combine your information into the other page. I don't see a problem with giving you joint ownership since I wrote the info anyway.

I used to have joint ownership of the page, but I took my name off since I hadn't climbed the peak and didn't want any pages for peaks that I haven't been to. In retrospect, I shouldn't have touched the page and should have let it be deleted with the rest. It wouldn't have been an issue now if I hadn't tried to help out with the page.

Most of the owner's other pages have been deleted since they only had a few words or a couple of basic sentences on them.

The only two left are the ones I helped with. I haven't climbed the mountain though, so the information is still basic. It's probably outdated by now as well. It would be better if someone else wrote their first hand information on the page.

DimitriosFan

DimitriosFan - Jul 2, 2016 12:43 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

Hey Scott,
That would be nice. How exactly could we proceed doing this?
Also, I was thinking to make a page for Singgalang as well, as I did both peaks while there. It seems like its the same situation with that page as well, right?
Thanks a lot.

Scott

Scott - Jul 2, 2016 1:00 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

I can help you out with this when I get back Tuesday.

DimitriosFan

DimitriosFan - Jul 2, 2016 1:12 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Duplicate

That's great! Have a fun weekend!

Viewing: 1-7 of 7

Table of Contents
Children

Children

Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. For example, the Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' The Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children.

Album1 Albums