Merapi Tour

Last weekend a fellow ETA from Central Java came to visit Jogja. Among other excursions, one day we decided to drive the motorbike JT rented up to the village of Kaliurang which lies on the southern base of Mt Merapi. We wanted to see the damage that Merapi had done- the scorched trees, the lahar, the destroyed villages- that we had been seeing on the news. As it turns out, the southern slope of the mountain was largely unaffected in relation to other areas, but we had ourselves a nice hike and saw some amazing views regardless. When driving around we found ourselves asking local strangers how we could get close to the mountain and where "we could see the destruction" in Indonesian, which I imagine sounded pretty funny or at least a bit dramatic coming from two foreigners riding around on a motorbike looking all but lost. Anyway, we stumbled upon a national park and took a hike up the side of Mt Merapi just a little ways (as I mentioned before, the area was mostly unaffected).

The Bat Cave

We saw some spectacular views of the southern slopes of Mt Merapi and spotted areas where some lahar or volcanic mudflow had come through. We also explored some caves, most likely formed via old lava tubes, on our hike. In one cave we stooped down low, turned off our flashlight, and listened to the humming of bats. We took a few pictures and after our cameras flashed they really started bustling.


JT exploring some caves



Lahar or mudflow from the Volcano

After visiting the national park we drove around for a bit, asking where the destruction was, and found a lookout point east of the park. This area was one that was hit not by pyroclastic flow during the eruption but more by lahar afterwards, and probably clouds of hot gas which account for the scorched trees. This is what I could gather anyway from the physical evidence and what I could pick up from locals who explained the area to us in Indonesian. Although some slopes of Merapi are not the apocalyptic scenes one may expect after a major eruption, the lahar is still a very damaging post-eruption feature even if it appears less formidable. Lahars usually take out anything in their path, crushing trees while they drain down the sides of the mountain. They also drain into Yogyakarta's river systems and cause much damage there. The volume of water flowing through Jogja's rivers is constant, so when lahars clog up the arteries of the systems they can take out houses or cause flooding that imposes a lot of danger to the areas and housing bordering the rivers.

Surveying the scorched trees

The village of Kaliurang seems to be going on with usual life after the series of eruptions, but many villages around Merapi are devastated. Even the mild views of destruction JT and I were able to view were very sobering and stand as a solemn reminder of what raw power there is to be revered by our earth's natural processes.