Taking in the stunning panorama of Mount Merapi

Taking in the stunning panorama of Mount Merapi

By Ahmad Solikan

BOYOLALI, Central Java (JP): Thin layers of fog carried on the
wind penetrated the darkness slowly enveloping the villages
clinging to the slopes of Mount Merapi in Central Java. In the
yard of an old house built in the traditional Javanese style with
plaited bamboo walls, a number of foreign tourists stepped off a
white minibus and were warmly welcomed by four guides who had
been on standby since the afternoon.

The guests were served hot coffee and boiled cassava, and led
into a room to rest on a bamboo plaited sofa covered with a
pandanus mat. The room was illuminated by a petromax (kerosene
pressure lantern) and was only equipped with wooden chairs and a
sofa. But the tourists paid little heed, their loud laughs
breaking the silence of the night.

Supomo, 29, one of the guides, looked at this watch. It was
11:30 p.m. He told the tourists to prepare their equipment for
their trek to the top of Mount Merapi. He told them to wear their
jackets and shoes, to take snacks and a bit of alcohol to cope
with the cold air. He also told them to bring flashlights.

The group of eight tourists from the United States,
Switzerland, France and Australia, plus the guides, left the
house exactly at midnight. Two guides led them along the eight-
kilometer footpath to the top of the mountain. The higher they
climbed the thicker the fog and the further the temperature fell,
settling at a bone-chilling zero degrees centigrade.

It took the group four and a half hours to get to the top of
Mount Merapi, which is covered in fine sand containing sulfur.
The magma in the Merapi crater smoldered and exuded a thick white
smoke. Meanwhile, the first rays of sunlight began to hit the
eastern side of the mountain, enhancing the perfection of
nature's beauty in the eyes of everyone on the mountain.

But the fiercely blowing wind, stirring up the fine sand,
caused the group to retreat from the top of the mountain and
begin their descent. Blossoming accasia trees grew amid nature's
beauty and gray-coated monkeys, a pest to local farmers, were
seen hanging from the trees being serenaded by a chorus of birds.

At the foot of the mountain herders were taking their cows out
to graze. Farmers were occupied harvesting carrots, potatoes,
celery, mustard greens and cabbage. On the way down the mountain,
many farmers were carrying their vegetables to the nearest
market. The trekkers returned to the house at about 9 a.m., where
they were greeted with a breakfast of sugared tea, fried rice and
fruit.

The kind and impressive reception extended by the guides and
their hosts will not easily be forgotten by the tourists.

Michael Freeland, 24, an American, said he was satisfied with
his visit to Mount Merapi and the beautiful surrounding nature.
The residents were friendly, ready to smile, matching the warm
reception of the guides. But he was disappointed by the sight of
garbage strewn about the forest. Nobody seemed to care enough to
pick up the garbage, and plastic waste materials can destroy the
fertility of soil and turn the area into barren land.

Michael obtained information on the Mount Merapi tour from a
travel agency in the Sosrowijayan area of Yogyakarta. The cost of
the tour was Rp 50,000 for accommodations and guide. He said this
kind of tour was very cheap, but was aware there was no insurance
against accidents.

"I have not had enough of the beautiful sunrise on Mount
Merapi. I may return another time," he said.

Pasri alias Bugel, 29, one of the guides, earns Rp 300,000 a
month. In the holiday season from July to September his income
increases to Rp 600,000 a month. This father of one started
guiding tourists up Mount Merapi nine years ago. While not
serving as a guide, he is a vegetables farmer. "I get Rp 5,000
from each tourist in the tour," said Bugel, a high school
graduate.

A veteran guide, Parto Dinemo, 66, said he discovered the
footpath to the top of the mountain around 1955 when he was
looking for firewood. Ten years later foreign tourists started
arriving to the area, but their numbers were limited. Those who
trek to the top of Mount Merapi are generally nature lovers,
although on the eve of Indonesia's Aug. 17 Independence Day a
different sort of group is attracted to the mountain. This group
treks to the top of the mountain, where they hold a ceremony and
raise the Indonesian flag.

Foreign tourists became aware of tours to the top of Mount
Merapi in the 1970s, but the number of people coming to the area
remained small and infrequent. Only in the early 1980s did the
number of trekkers increase. As Dinemo found he was no longer
able to cope with the increasing number of tourists, he invited
locals to join him in guiding these visitors to the top of the
mountain.

After taking a crash course in English, these guides were able
to lead foreign tourists independently. Dinemo now coordinates 22
guides, who can work up to twice a week. The guides pay a
compulsory contribution of Rp 500 into a fund as protection
against sickness and accidents. "I am aware they do not have life
insurance," Dinemo said.

Dinemo cooperates with a number of hotels and travel agencies
in Yogyakarta to inform tourists about the Mount Merapi tour.
Tourists resting in Dinemo's house are charged Rp 5,000 for food
and drinks. An average of 150 tourists hike to the top of Mount
Merapi each month. During the peak period between July and
September this number doubles. "I can gross about Rp 650,000 a
month," Dinemo said.

Mount Merapi is an active volcano and often creates somewhat
of a controversy among volcanologists. The explosion of lava from
the Mount Merapi is hard to detect and the frequency cannot be
predicted. Nearly every month Mount Merapi demands attention and
often claims victims among the villages huddled at its foot.

However, if Mount Merapi is not active a climbing tour from
Selo hill, Boyolali, to enjoy the beautiful panorama of nature is
an exceedingly enjoyable pastime. It is not too taxing to cover
eight kilometers in four and a half hours to see the hot lava in
Merapi's crater. The slopes on the east side of Mount Merapi are
less steep than those on the Kaliurang side. The vertical slopes
of the mountain on this side make hiking an exhausting exercise.

Coordinating the tours to the top of Mount Merapi demand as
much special attention as all forms of nature tourism. There is a
need for coordination among hotels, travel agencies, guides,
nature lovers and the local government. All related parties must
also work together to maintain the environment so discarded
plastic and cans can be cleaned up and the destruction of rare
flora and fauna can be prevented. All this must be done for the
preservation of the environment.