Exploring The Gorgeous Mount Merbabu

by: Hana Elleonora

exploring your adventure in nature

Everybody loves nature, right? The peaceful sound of bird chirp playing in your head releases all your stress. The breathtaking scenery along the way will make you amazed the God's creation. One of the way to enjoy your adventure in nature is by climbing the mountain.

Climbing mount Merbabu is somewhat treacherous. From the distance it looks very easy and not steep at all to climb up. There are three official route to climb the mount Merbabu. I choose Wekas route to hike up and Selo route as the way back. Where Wekas is located in Wekas village, Magelang and the other one is in Boyolali, both located in East Java. It takes about eight hours to reach the top of Merbabu through the shortest ' yet toughest and steepest- track called the Wekas route.

As Selo village is also the starting point for climbing mount Merapi, my team had a big deal to climb mount Merapi just after we had enough rest after all the exhausting days to climb mount Merbabu.

At the first glance it looks also as the path now would be wider, but it's not. It's continuously covered with weed and still wetting the pants. Crossing a reed field one comes out to a small plain where it's possible to walk for a short distance easily. That's followed by a first very steep slope. Steps are made in the clayground. The Merapi is to see again in it's full glory.

After reaching the first peak, one realizes that it's not the final one, but it's continuing over another short plain. Behind that there is another very steep slope, leading to another peak. That is a dangerous way up, for the steepness and the fact, that there is nothing to hold on. A wrong step or slippery could easily cause a long downfall for dozens of meters. That's advanced difficulty level. Later, on the way back I found out that there is another, much easier and far less dangerous way to go up.

Well, one is thinking now, that this peak is finally the last and highest one, but it's still not. After making it up there another plain appears, a few smaller peaks to the right and now, in the very background, the final, main peak of Mount Merbabu. Surprisingly still much, much higher to climb, still far away. So, one walks over the plain and passes a small forest of a kind of mountain trees I have never seen before.

After a final, very steep climb upwards one reaches finally the real peak of Mount Merbabu. It's a great view from here over parts of cental Java, like out of a plane. Neighbouring Mount Merapi looks small from here. Merbabu (3142 m) is 231 meters higher than it's smoking neighbour. Besides there are several more mountains to see around, some of them are active volcanos, other non-active former volcanos. That's what Java really shaped.

the gorgeous mount Merbabu

Thus, exploring your adventure in nature especially climbing mount Merbabu is extremely magnificent experience you will never forget in your lifetime because you can release your stress by enjoying the beauty of nature.