Mount Merbabu Hike

Inspired by the many posts I've seen on lemonade, I decided to take this trip myself since I was gonna be in Java area.

Mount Merbabu is 2 hours away by car from Yogyakarta and is an absolutely gorgeous hike.

🧔 Guide: I got my guide through mountmerapitour.com , le guide was a villager and spoke limited english. even though so, he ensured I was well taken care of and safe. le guide performed a one-man show of being the guide and porter, prepping food and carried the tent but nope he does not carry my personal belongings and my drinking water, so pack minimally to give yourself an easier time! (prices vary according to group size, pls text / email to check, very responsive coordinator) (side note- pls also avoid this @suwanting.merbabu guide on ig, very unpleasant exchange but story for another day)

⛰️Terrain: Going up was actually easier than coming down 😂 there are bouts of steepness lasting around 30mins but you get flat lands /manageable grounds after each bout to catch your breath. grounds are mostly solid with loose sands, which makes coming down a challenge because the sands will make it ssssooo slippery for you when coming down. (i clumsily broke the guide's walking stick at one slip ☠️ super guilty but i tipped him enough after the trip ended to let him get another stick 😆) i felt the steepest part was the last bout leading to the summit but perhaps that's psychological cos it's the last stretch. definitely much much easier than rinjani.

💨Weather: couldn't have asked for a better weather - went in july and the skies were clear with perpetual cool breeze blowing at you, what a pleasant hike. but it gets cold towards sunset and approaches 3 degC at night ❄️ do be appropriately dressed if you're intending to camp up there. had 3 layers on at night and windproof pants, but lying on 2 layers on mat still felt a tad cold, will be safer to be over than under prepared for it.

the view at the top was definitely worth it ✨ - pls do go for it if you like hiking and will be in Yogya!

#Yogyakarta #travel #hike #nature #indonesia #SummerDiary