Merapi Lava Tour: The Complete Guide
Taking an off road jeep on a Merapi Lava tour is one of the most fun things to do in Yogyakarta . The tour is easy to arrange. Let me tell you about the tour and show you how you can make a booking (Merapi is also a popular destination for trekking , something to consider if you like the outdoors).
Also Read: The Best Yogyakarta Tours
Overview of the Lava Tour Merapi
There are three options available for the Merapi Lava Tour. These are the short, medium and long route. The short route consists of an 1,5 – 2 hours journey around Merapi. It costs Rp350,000 to rent the jeep. Each jeep can comfortably fit three passengers, but you can squeeze in up to five passengers if you need to.
Let me give you a quick overview of some of the highlights of the Merapi Lava Tour along with a rough itinerary. Let’s get started:
Museum Sisa Hartaku
This is a modest museum that was established by a small family (Mr. Kimin and Mrs. Wati). Museum Sisa Hartaku can be translated to My Remaining Treasure Museum. The museum is actually within their house. This house was affected by the Merapi eruption in 2010.
The family (initiated by their first child) created this museum to inform people about the last Merapi eruption. Various personal things that were owned by the family are displayed at the museum such as: motorcycles, clothing, cutlery, furniture, pets, television and much more. I got melancholy feeling looking at their clock attached to the wall. The hands of the clock are stuck forever at the moment of the eruption. It is a chilling reminder of what happened when the hot ash cloud reached the village.
Several villages that were affected by the Merapi eruption
During the tour you will pass through several villages that were affected by the Merapi eruption (sorry I can’t remember the names of the villages). Some of the villages are now fields farmed by the locals. In these villages you will see abandoned buildings in the middle of these fields.
Alien stone
There is one big stone that is called Alien stone (Batu Alien) that was hurled out of the volcano during the eruption. The surroundings here are picturesque. During the Merapi Lava Tour you will come to the edge of a cliff where you can see one of the massive rivers around Merapi. Please be really careful when you are enjoying the view from the edge of the cliff as it is pretty high.
The bunker is located in Kaliadem and is no longer used anymore. Two people were found dead inside this bunker in 2006 (eruption) . They tried to save themselves by entering the bunker and were trapped by debris from the eruption of Mount Merapi. They were covered with up to 6 feet of debris. The ash was as hot as 572 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you walk up a bit from the bunker and you can see such a beautiful view. The distance from the bunker to the Merapi summit is less than 10 km. So you can see Merapi pretty close and clear (if the weather permits). The area feels really magical and is my favourite spot of this tour.
Preparation
The short Merapi Lava tour lasts for 2-hours. To make sure you are well prepared for the tour I would advise that you bring the following items:
- Water and a snack
- Optional: Sunblock and mask/a piece of cloth to cover your mouth and nose because it can be a bit dusty
The jeep driver who will be your guide (plus photographer too) usually has a basic level of English. If you wish to have a dedicated guide for a better explanation about what you see during the tour one can be arranged. This guide service is available at an additional cost.
Did you know that you can do a sunrise and a night package of the Merapi Lava Tour? The Sunrise Lava Tour starts at 4:00 am. There is also a Night Lava Tour that starts at 6-6.30 pm. The great thing about the tour is you have a spectacular view of the sky (again, if the weather permits)! Since I am a big fan of sunrises I am quite curious about the Sunrise Merapi Lava Tour. I have heard that people sometimes combine the Merapi Lava Tour with a visit to the Lost World Castle (I have never been there myself). I think it is like a theme park with some of funny photo opportunities. Maybe a fun place to go with kids or friends.
Book The Merapi Lava Tour
The Merapi lava tour is a nice adventure and perfect for the family. You also get to see and experience a side of Merapi that few visitors to Yogyakarta ever see. I’ve done the tour twice myself and it’s definitely something that I’d recommend to friends. If you’re interested in joining the Merapi Lava tour I can help arrange everything for you.
Included in the Package:
- Half day car rental
- Pick up and drop off at your hotel
- Jeep rental
- Pack lunch (optional)
- Dedicated guide (optional)
Interested in joining the tour? Press the button below to find out more.
Have you ever joined the Merapi Lava Tour? What did you think of the jeep tour?
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About the Author Firsta
Related posts, 4×4 merapi volcano tour: an off-road adventure.
Hiking Mount Merapi: The Beauty of Fire Mountain
36 Comments
Acerca del volcan es impresionante para observar, porque cuando se encuentra en actividad quiere decir que en cualquier momento se producen la erupciones, cuanto me gustaria llegar a esa zona del Monte Merapi, como Geologo que soy estoy muy acostumbrado a la caminata porque en forma diaria camino entre 7 Km y 10 Km para poder mantener el cuerpo estoy acostumbrado a cualquier tipo de clima en el año o en altitudes que suoeran los 5000 msnm y en cualquier tipo de ambiente. Maximo
Hi Maximo, I don’t understand Spanish (I only understand several words). No entiendo. 🙁 Thanks for visiting my blog!
Kata Maximo menurut google translate (silakan diatur sendiri kalimatnya kak haha):
Tentang gunung berapi mengesankan untuk menonton, karena ketika Anda berada dalam bisnis berarti bahwa setiap saat letusan terjadi, bagaimana saya ingin untuk mencapai kawasan Gunung Merapi, sebagai Geologist saya saya sangat digunakan untuk berjalan karena setiap hari cara antara 7 Km dan 10 Km untuk menjaga body’m digunakan untuk segala jenis cuaca di tahun atau pada ketinggian 5000 m suoeran dan dalam lingkungan apapun.
Hahaha iya bisa pake google translate tapi takut salah artinya. 🙂 Thanks ya.
Kapan kapan ke sini aaaah… Udah lari2 tiap minggu nih aku. harusnya sih kuat ya hahaha…
Ayooo Mas Ndop pasti bisa!
keren banget merapi tournya, jadi pengehn ke sana
Aku nanggis meneteskan air mata saat berkunjung di museum sisa hartaku, ngebayangin bagaimana mereka menyelamatkan diri saat erupsi ihik ihik ihik
Iya kak? Kamu nangis di museum itu? O.o Aku sedih juga sih ngeliat barang-barangnya, tapi ga sampe nangis.
wajib di-bookmark nih !
kalo musim rada bersahabat & curah hujan udah ngga sederas sekarang, rencana pengin ke merapi. tulisan kak first ini cocok banget buat guiding kesana. trimikisiii .. 😀
Sama-sama kak. Jadi kapan mau ke Merapi? Mendaki atau Lava tour nih? 😀
Hopefully the illegal sand mining going on in the area doesn’t spoil any of those beautiful vistas – 500 trucks a day is an impressive number indeed!
Waktu itu kami ditawari untuk naik jeep ke Merapi tapi karena aku anaknya lebih suka jalan yawda kita jalan aja (bukan trekking summit ya). Nah, ternyata jalannya jauh pisan. Akhirnya cuma bisa nyampe ke rumahnya Alm. Mbak Marijan dan suasana di sana…menyedihkan. 🙁
Saya pengen ditemenin ke Merapinya mbak 😀
[…] tours to Borobudur and Prambanan, plus sometimes Ramayana Ballet. Another popular request is for tours hiking Merapi (feel free to check my Hiking Merapi Volcano video […]
Hi, I would like to book a tour but the “book now” link does not work for me. I have left my email address here, please contact me ASAP! Thank you 🙂
Hi,I would like to book a tour but ” book now ” it doesn’t work . I have leave my email address here, please contact me as soon as possible you can because i want to book the trip for tomorrow 🙂 Thank you ????????????
Mau tanya donk, kalau mau ikut tour ini misalkan kita bawa kendaraan pribadi sampai ke pos untuk naik jeep kira2 bisa gak dan di daerah mana? Terima kasih 🙂
Firsta, Can you recommend any local tour operator to help arrange? Thanks. Teo
Hi Teo, I’ll get in touch through email. 🙂
Hi Firsta, do u have whatapps or facebook so that i can ask you something privately and conveniently?
Hi Teo, Apologize for the late reply. I already sent an email to you regarding this matter.
Can you contact me as soon as possible as my family and i are going to arrange our transportation to travel Yogyakarta?
Haloo. Boleh minta contact nya untuk info lebih lanjut? Thank you 🙂
Hi Venska, Bisa email di discoveryourindonesia[at]gmail[dot]com 🙂 Thank you sudah mampir.
Hi there! Me and my friend were thinking of doing the tour on sunday. How do we go about checking times etc? Any tour guides that you know of which are good? Any tours which are cheap / student discount? Thanks
Apologize for the late reply. I hope you are having a great time in Yogyakarta 😀
Hi Firsta, Pls recommend a local tour for my family trip to Yogyakarta this July 2016. It’s a 4days/3nights tour.
Thank you. Lee
Hi Lee. I’d recommend reviewing the Yogya Package Tours . There are 4 day 3 Night packages available.
Nice blog! Would you have any details regarding the medium tour of Mt. Merapi? I will be doing the sunrise tour in Borobudur and was thinking of heading out to do the Merapi tour after before I head on catch the sunset at Prambanan. What would you recommend, the short or medium tour given the time constraints? Also, can I just book the tour at the site just in case we decide to change our itinerary on the day itself? Lastly, is there a food stall nearby where we can have some lunch?
Hi Alexis. I emailed you regarding your enquiry.
You have a wonderful website- it’s super informative. Do you have a tour that includes Borobudur, Prambanan, and Mt. Merapi? If not, how many days would be needed to see those three sites?
What are the costs for transportation to and from the train station?
Hi Mike. Thanks for getting in touch. There is no tour that combines all three activities, but you can do those activities as a shared tour. It would take two days to do the tour (Borobudur and Prambanan in the morning and then overnight at Merapi). The cost to and from the train station would obviously depend on where you are planning to go.
Hello Firsta, Izzit possible to hike the Mt Merapi on this coming August as just erupted by May 2018? Thinking to hike and overnight for a sunset trip.
Hi Ryan, It is tough to predict. At the moment it is still not possible to do hiking activity in Merapi.
Dear Firsta, Would like to know the route taken by the jeep tour. Which jeep tour would take us to the top and see the crater? Is the tour suitable for senior citizen?
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