Title – Mount Merapi
Date – August 1997
Location - Sumatra - Indonesia
Mount Merapi on Sumatra (not to be confused with it’s often more restless neighbour and namesake on the island of Java) is Sumatra’s most active volcano and although the activity has been contained within it’s cone in living history, you will see from this view from the top of this stratovolcano that it towers 2000m (The summit is 2891m above sea level) up over the surrounding plateau, menacing it with a constant plume of smoke emerging from the depths of the crater.
To climb this volcano is no easy task and the best time to climb is in the dead of the night so that you arrive on the summit at sunrise and can enjoy the spectacular views as well as the immense nature of the 700m wide crater. But beware, volcanoes can lie dormant for thousands of years before they blow and Merapi is starting to rumble again, in August 2006 the alert level on the volcano was raised from Alert level 1 to an Alert level 2 (from a 1 – 4 scale) and villagers and visitors were advised to stay off the mountain.
If Merapi calms down again and they open up the mountain, you’ll find a very hard climb ahead of you through the night. Be aware that the sweltering day heat of Bukittinggi (the closest town to the volcano), dissipates as you climb and by the time you are three quarters of the way up, you can find yourself very cold. If you have not prepared correctly and brought the right clothing and protection from the elements, you will find a difficult climb becoming very unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Although your guide (and you must take a guide) will bound up the volcano like a mountain goat on acid, you may find the going tough. If you ask about how hard the climb is they will tell you it’s easy, but then if you ask a guide you are trying to hire if he wants job or not, he is bound to tell you what you want to hear.
Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops at Beyond The Blue have no affiliations that hold back our complete independence and ability to provide advice that is unbiased. We will recommend products and services to you, but these are recommendations on what we believe are good and effective suppliers. Our objective is to allow you to travel in safety where ever your destination might be and to return home safely to your family with stories and experiences to share.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
Date – August 1997
Location - Sumatra - Indonesia
Mount Merapi on Sumatra (not to be confused with it’s often more restless neighbour and namesake on the island of Java) is Sumatra’s most active volcano and although the activity has been contained within it’s cone in living history, you will see from this view from the top of this stratovolcano that it towers 2000m (The summit is 2891m above sea level) up over the surrounding plateau, menacing it with a constant plume of smoke emerging from the depths of the crater.
To climb this volcano is no easy task and the best time to climb is in the dead of the night so that you arrive on the summit at sunrise and can enjoy the spectacular views as well as the immense nature of the 700m wide crater. But beware, volcanoes can lie dormant for thousands of years before they blow and Merapi is starting to rumble again, in August 2006 the alert level on the volcano was raised from Alert level 1 to an Alert level 2 (from a 1 – 4 scale) and villagers and visitors were advised to stay off the mountain.
If Merapi calms down again and they open up the mountain, you’ll find a very hard climb ahead of you through the night. Be aware that the sweltering day heat of Bukittinggi (the closest town to the volcano), dissipates as you climb and by the time you are three quarters of the way up, you can find yourself very cold. If you have not prepared correctly and brought the right clothing and protection from the elements, you will find a difficult climb becoming very unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Although your guide (and you must take a guide) will bound up the volcano like a mountain goat on acid, you may find the going tough. If you ask about how hard the climb is they will tell you it’s easy, but then if you ask a guide you are trying to hire if he wants job or not, he is bound to tell you what you want to hear.
Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshops at Beyond The Blue have no affiliations that hold back our complete independence and ability to provide advice that is unbiased. We will recommend products and services to you, but these are recommendations on what we believe are good and effective suppliers. Our objective is to allow you to travel in safety where ever your destination might be and to return home safely to your family with stories and experiences to share.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com
Image – ©Peter Mayhew
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