A thousand years ago, Yogyakarta was the center of
ancient Mataram Kingdom which was prosperous and high civilized. This
kingdom built Borobudur Temple which was the biggest Buddhist temple in
the world, 300 years before Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Some other relics
are Prambanan Temple, Ratu Boko Palace, and dozens of other temples
scattered throughout Yogyakarta.
However, by some mysterious reason, Ancient Mataram
Kingdom moved its central government to East Java in the 10th century.
The magnificent temples were abandoned and partially buried by the
eruption material of Merapi Volcano. Slowly, Yogyakarta region went back
into the dense forest.
Six hundred years later, Panembahan Senopati
established the Islamic Mataram Kingdom in the region. Once again,
Yogyakarta became the witness of human history of a great Kingdom that
ruled Java Island and its surrounding area. Islamic Mataram Kingdom was
leaving a trail of ruins of fortress and royal tombs in Kotagede which
recently is known as silver handicraft center in Yogyakarta.
The thrill of conquering the most active volcano in Indonesia truly offers its own special sensation. Basically there are two routes leading to the summit, the Kaliurang track from the south and the Selo Village Track from the north. Although Kaliurang is only a short drive from the city of Yogyakarta, but hikers are banned from using this route since it is regarded too dangerous. Thus, Selo Village has become the new ‘basecamp’ for Merapi Mountain Hiking.
Situated 1,560 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu, Selo village is administratively located within the Boyolali Regency, in the province of Central Java, aproximately 80 Kilometers from downtown Yogyakarta. For the fit and healthy, from Selo it’s a 3 hour hike to the summit of Mount Merapi, for others it will take 4 hours plus to climb, and nearly the same time for the descent. Most hikers start at midnight, or just after, in order to reach the summit before the first light of dawn. This is because Merapi generally emits more gases as the day goes on, so early morning is the safest time to visit.
The thrill of conquering the most active volcano in Indonesia truly offers its own special sensation. Basically there are two routes leading to the summit, the Kaliurang track from the south and the Selo Village Track from the north. Although Kaliurang is only a short drive from the city of Yogyakarta, but hikers are banned from using this route since it is regarded too dangerous. Thus, Selo Village has become the new ‘basecamp’ for Merapi Mountain Hiking.
Situated 1,560 meters above sea level at the foot of Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu, Selo village is administratively located within the Boyolali Regency, in the province of Central Java, aproximately 80 Kilometers from downtown Yogyakarta. For the fit and healthy, from Selo it’s a 3 hour hike to the summit of Mount Merapi, for others it will take 4 hours plus to climb, and nearly the same time for the descent. Most hikers start at midnight, or just after, in order to reach the summit before the first light of dawn. This is because Merapi generally emits more gases as the day goes on, so early morning is the safest time to visit.
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