Gunung Merapi Travel Guide
Gunung Merapi (Mount Merapi) is a 3,000-meter active volcano in Central Java. It is readily accessible lying just north of the major city of Yogyakarta and can be climbed when not in eruption mode.
- What is It?
- Gunung Merapi is an active volcano not far north of Yogyakarta in Central Java.
- When to Go
- The best weather in central Java is April through October.
- Nearest Town
- Yogyakarta, around 30 or 40kms to the south.
- Don't Miss
- trekking up to the summit of Gunung Merapi.
- Trivia
- Gunung Merapi means 'mountain of fire'; an apt name for one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, which has gone off 68 times since 1548.
Gunung Merapi is very active and has erupted dozens of times over the last few hundred years. The largest eruption on record in 1006 plastered all of Java with millions of tons of ash, which in turn was thought to have brought the Hindu Mataram kingdom to its knees. The recent 1994 eruption killed 43 people.
Not surprisingly, trekking is the most popular activity on Gunung Merapi, and you can even cycle up part of it. The most popular route up is to go via Selo, which lies on the north slope. From this uninteresting village, the summit of Gunung Merapi is only around three hours.
Travel to Gunung Merapi - Getting There
Yogyakarta's Adisucipto International Airport is the gateway to Gunung Merapi and receives flights from Jakarta - Java's main airport. Flight time is under an hour and there are daily flights. Minor roads head off for Gunung Merapi to the northeast of Yogyakarta via the village of Pakem and onto Hargo Binangun, a journey of around 35kms.
