Mount Merapi
Gunung Merapi
Indonesia's most active volcano, at 2,910 meters. A jeep ride through the 2010 pyroclastic flow remains, past villages and bunkers buried by lava, makes it Yogyakarta's most thrilling half-day trip.
Merapi (meaning 'fire mountain' in Javanese) lies about 30 km north of Yogyakarta, at roughly 2,910 meters, and erupts on average every 2 to 5 years. The major eruption of 2010 killed more than 350 people and buried villages on the southern slope under pyroclastic flows. The volcano's surroundings are now a national park, and entry is prohibited within 5 km of the summit. As a result, climbing Merapi has been replaced by the Lava Tour. Starting from Kaliurang or Kaliadem on the south side, you ride open-sided old jeeps up the ash-covered river valley, stopping at the Museum Sisa Hartaku (the Remains of Our Possessions museum, where a villager has kept burnt motorbikes, clocks and animal bones), the Kaliadem bunker (where two volunteers took shelter in 2006 and died in the heat), the Bunker viewpoint for the closest view of the crater, the giant boulder known as the 'Alien Rock,' and the village ruins buried by ash in 2010. The tour takes 1.5 to 3 hours in total, costs about Rp 400,000 to 700,000 per jeep for 4 people, and a sunrise departure at 4:30 is also available. Selo village on the north side is the traditional summit route (about 4 to 5 hours, guide required, open depending on volcanic activity). Kaliurang on the south side has hiking trails and viewpoints. Getting there: a taxi or chartered car from central Yogyakarta takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to Kaliurang. Most jeep companies offer hotel pickup, or you can join a Merapi sunrise and Borobudur combined day tour. Notes: check the volcanic alert level from Indonesia's Geological Agency before you go (some routes close at Level II and above); jeep tours are very dusty, so bring a mask, sunglasses and dust-proof clothing; it is cool in the mountains morning and evening, so bring a jacket for sunrise tours; rainy-season mud may lead to cancellations.
Opening hours
Jeep tours approx. 05:00–17:00 (subject to volcanic activity)
Nearby sights
- Ullen Sentalu Museum
- Plaosan Temple
- Sewu Temple
- Ramayana Ballet Prambanan
- Prambanan
- Sambisari Temple
- Mendut Temple
- Kalasan Temple