Location: South 07.62734, East 111.19434 (GPS at the summit)
Difficulty: (YDS) class 1
Climbed July 22, 2015
Information:
How to get there:
This mountain is located on the border between East Java and Central Java.
From Surakarta, drive east to the smaller village of Tawangmangu, this is the last
town before the Hwy. climbs to about 1900 meter and the trailhead.
There are actually
two trailheads less than a kilometer apart. This report describes the
hike from the east trailhead. This location is S07.66453, E111.19161, elevation
about 1900 meter.
This is a quick summary and reference to climbs made in the summer 2015.
Route description.
Head up through the gate and follow the big, nice path through the forest. This path is
nicely done, set with stones almost all the way.
There are steps in the steeper sections
and even handrails near
the top. You will pass small shelters that are numbered
1 to 4. After position 4, only a short section remains before the trail becomes horizontal
and contours around
to your right. You will
pass several shelters and even a few places that
sell drink and other stuff? to the hikers.
Finally, you move uphill (left) to gain the
highest point. There are 2-3 alternative paths here, they all do lead to the summit.
The summit has a tall marker and lots of visitors.
Comments:
I left the hotel (MesaStila) already at 0300, knowing that this
was a long drive and that traffic had been pretty bad for a week now,
because of the holidays at the end of Ramadan. Traffic was light at this
early hour and we reached the trailhead at 0600. I little organizing and
I could hike at 0610. The local office had not opened for registration yet.
The trail turned out to be a very well made path,
set with stones almost all
the way, steps where appropriaate. Higher up, even some sections with
handrails. The "normal time" seemed to be 5 hours up, with a station for
every hour. I quickly saw that my time was slightly faster than 30 minutes per station.
After reaching the crater area, the trail turned flat and contoured along. At last, a small
hill and I arrived at the summit by 0830, so 2:20 up.
Lots of people everywhere, but it seems the normal way to climb this peak is across
2 days with a tent camp somewhere along the route.
Resources:
Images
View west, Merapi and Merbabu, with Sumbing and Sindoro behind.
