Merapi: a jeep ride through the 2010 eruption zone

An open jeep bouncing over riverbeds of volcanic boulders, a village museum of melted belongings, and the smoking peak of Indonesia’s most active volcano.

Area

Merapi & the north

Start from

Kaliurang or Cangkringan

Distance

about 30 km north of Jogja, then 15–25 km by jeep

Time needed

half a day

Best season

Dry season mornings, April – October, for volcano views

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Car to the jeep base; open-top jeep on the slopes

Tickets & rules

Jeep tour fee per vehicle; small entrance fees at some stops; the volcano’s alert level decides which areas are open

Why go

Merapi is always there. On clear mornings you see it from every rooftop in Jogja, a nearly perfect cone with a thin wisp of smoke. On its slopes, you see what it can do. The lava tour takes you through the area devastated by the 2010 eruption, now partly green again, in an open-top jeep driven by local villagers.

It is part thrill ride, part history lesson. The jeeps splash through rivers and climb up slopes of grey sand, and you stop at places that tell the story of the eruption: a village house turned into a museum, a bunker where people sought shelter, a huge boulder thrown out by the volcano, and viewpoints where, if the clouds lift, you look straight up at the summit.

Above all, it’s a chance to understand the relationship between the people of the slopes and their mountain. They live with risk because the ash makes the soil fertile, because their families have always lived here, and because Merapi, for many, is not just a mountain but a living presence.

The story

Merapi, around 2,930 metres high, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with eruptions every few years. The name is often translated as ‘mountain of fire’. Its eruptions produce pyroclastic flows, avalanches of hot gas and rock that locals call wedhus gembel, ‘shaggy goat’, after their curly, billowing shape. They move extremely fast and destroy everything in their path.

The eruption of October and November 2010 was one of the biggest in a century. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated, but more than 300 died. Among them was Mbah Maridjan, the spiritual guardian of the mountain appointed by the sultan, who refused to leave his home in Kinahrejo village and was found in a position of prayer. His house has become a place of pilgrimage.

In the village of Petung, one family turned the ruins of their home into a small museum called Sisa Hartaku, ‘what remains of my belongings’. It holds melted glass bottles and cutlery, a motorbike frame, the skeleton of a cow and a clock that stopped when the hot cloud hit. It is moving and quietly powerful.

In Javanese belief, Merapi is linked to the Kraton and to the southern sea along the philosophical axis. Every year, palace officials carry offerings up the mountain in the labuhan ceremony. Scientists from the volcano observatory and village elders now work side by side, and the alert system, with sirens and evacuation routes, is taken very seriously.

Getting there

Jeep tours start from bases in Kaliurang and around Cangkringan, about 45 minutes to an hour by car from central Jogja. Many guesthouses can book a tour including transport, or you can take a ride-hailing car to the base and choose a route there.

Tours come in short, medium and long versions, from about one to three hours; the longer ones visit more sites and river crossings. Prices are per jeep, which usually takes up to four people.

A suggested plan

1. 5:00Leave Jogja early for the best chance of seeing the summit.
2. 6:00Start the jeep tour; first stop at a viewpoint for sunrise, weather permitting.
3. 7:00Museum Sisa Hartaku in Petung, then the Batu Alien boulder.
4. 8:00The Kaliadem bunker and the open lava fields facing the summit.
5. 9:30A river crossing, then coffee at the base before returning to Jogja.

Where to stay

Kaliurang, a cool hill town at around 900 metres, has old villas and simple guesthouses; staying there makes the dawn start easier and nights are pleasantly fresh.

Good to know

• Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dusty or wet; you may want sunglasses and a scarf against the dust.
• Ask for a driver who speaks a little English if you want the stories.
• Clouds usually build by mid-morning; go as early as possible for views.