manager Stan for a cold beer proves too refreshing a reward to resist. After a huge meal of succulent, Indonesian BBQ chicken cooked to perfection in a sweet marinade and served with a chilled white wine, the heavens open. Claps of thunder ricochet off Merbabu and Merapi. We are due to start our Merapi climb at 1 a.m. I meet with chief guide, Sony, who is unperturbed by the weather. “No problem,” he says calmly, as the rain hammers down around us, “it will stop by 11 p.m.” I know I should have faith—Sony has lived in the area his entire life and has a sterling track record of predictions, having guessed the scale and date of the 2010 eruption to the month. There are almost as many myths about Merapi as there are villages surrounding it, and Selo has its own. Here, the villagers believe that many years ago a holy man ran away from the village and was never found. His spirit is now said to rest in the volcano. A buffalo is sacrificed every year, carried up Merapi and thrown in to the crater as an offering. Sony reckons half of the villagers still place their faith in this ritual. After chatting with Sony and carb-loading with creamy salmon pasta, I bed down in my room at the lodge, the sound of the rain beating at the windows making it difficult to drift off. But Sony was right: by midnight, the rain has stopped and the sky bursts with stars. Despite this, there is no sign of the family—with heavy legs, they had opted to delay Merapi for a night, so guide Trioro and I head to the starting point.
With the fateful days of 2010 in mind, there is a sense of trepidation once we set foot on Merapi, pitch darkness heightening the anticipation. From the outset, the gradient is relentless, but we make good time and stop on the first of three hills to take in the views. From high up, the fact that Java is the world’s most heavily populated island becomes abundantly clear—street lamps show villages spreading up the slopes of several of Java’s at least 39 active volcanoes. The silence is only broken by the crackle of Trioro’s cigarette—we’re not even half way up and this vista would make a satisfying end in itself. After three hours, compact soil gives way to loose volcanic sand and rock—it’s two steps up and one step back. Nearing the top, we meet another group. One of its members is struggling badly. Mentally and physically drained from the night hike, she is terrified at sound of the loose rocks spraying down the slope as we pass. Soon we climb past patches of ground hot enough to burn skin—a visceral reminder of the colossal energy beneath our feet. I’ve done my fair share of night hikes, but I’m still grateful to be accompanied by a guide-slash-cheerleader on the
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final, steepest stretch. Trioro’s comically confident call of “One more minute!” every 10 minutes, spurs me on. We reach the peak before sunrise and settle down on the lip of the crater. The other group soon joins us, their sense of relief palpable as they hug us in celebration. Despite the fact that Trioro has climbed Merapi more than 1,000 times, his enthusiasm remains infectious. “I really hope we are lucky and you will see the lava,” he beams. Still in darkness, we peer deep into the sulfurous smoke. At last, it eases, allowing glimpses of the menacing red glow not far below us. As the sun rises, the sheer power of 2010’s fateful blast becomes clear, with the rim showing graphic signs of being torn asunder. It is ringed with jagged rock. In daylight, the scale of our climb becomes apparent for the first time–we are actually looking down on the mighty Merbabu across the valley. What’s more, a step in the wrong direction and we’d be sent tumbling in to the fiery crater below. A couple of baskets and a bamboo pole lay nearby—evidence of the recent buffalo sacrifice to appease the spirits. Before the last eruption, it was possible to climb safely down to the lava, but that’s no longer an option—Sony says the force of the last blast changed it beyond all recognition and now ropes and harnesses would be needed to attempt it. That’s when it hits home that we are standing on top of one of the world’s most destructive volcanoes. We pass two unforgettable hours watching the landscape around us change, the color of the rock morphing as it is bathed in ever more light and the green contours of Merbabu across the valley are picked out by lengthening shadows. All the while, Merapi’s smoke, potent with the smell of sulphur, spills over the crater’s edge. Luck stays on our side and the descent is dry and bright. We run at full speed down the sand slope to a stark plateau strewn with volcanic rocks below the summit. Later, about a third of the way down the more gentle descent, I ask Trioro if locals ever climb Merapi. He laughs and tells me plenty come this high twice a day. They climb once to collect grasses for their animals and a second time for dry firewood. Merapi may periodically unleash disasters, but together with the many other volcanoes of Indonesia, it also blesses the country with immensely fertile land and today boosts the local economy with ever growing numbers of volcano trekkers. At the bottom, Trioro is tired but still full of smiles. “Now is the time to enjoy the benefits Merapi brings,” he says. “It should be another 45 years before we have to face her full wrath again.” ✚
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t l guide getting there daily flights serve yogyakarta from Jakarta on lion air (lionair.co.id), garuda air (garuda-indonesia.com) and air asia (airasia.com).
do Jiwa Quest Jln. Raung, Semarang 50232; 62-81/12753651; jiwaquest.com; allinclusive trekking packages including guides, equipment and return transport from Yogyakarta from Rs350,000 per person.
staY Mesa Stila Resort stand-alone villas and a pool overlooking andong volcano; first-rate nouveau Indonesian food (try the ikan bakar and honey grilled king prawns); inclusive classes for yoga, traditional martial arts and gamelan music; a focus on wellbeing that includes no alcohol after 5 p.m.—this ex-coffee plantation and colonial estate is the place to decompress after trekking. Losari Village, Grabag, Magelang, Central Java; mesahotelsandresorts.com; 6221/719-4121; doubles from US$200.