Climbing Mount Semeru, Indonesia

4 days – 3 vulcano’s part 1: Mount Semeru (3,676 m – 12,060 ft)

In September I traveled with my girlfriend to Indonesia for 2 weeks. Because the limited time we had and the enormous size of Indonesia we decided to limit our trip to Java and Bali. We bought a lonely planet, googled a bit around and started to make a travel itinerary so we could book our domestic plain tickets and hotels.

We both like nature and are used to do some hiking during our vacations. But during our research we noticed that guided multiple day hiking’s are limited. 1 of the options that kept coming back was a 3 day hike to the Semeru volcano summit. This seemed like a good idea because we could combine 2 things: hiking and seeing an active volcano. There were some warnings in the lonely planet and on blogs that it was a very tough physical challenge but we sport regularly and we figured it wouldn’t be a problem. A decision we regretted about a 1000 times during the summit attack.
Because mount Semeru requires a guide and porter we looked around on the internet for agency’s who offer a group tour. But for Semeru the options are limited and our time in Indonesia is limited too so we decided to book a private tour for 4 days with 2 days mount Semeru, 1 day Mount Bromo and on the final day Kawah Ijen (more of that in part 2). The booking agency warned us it would be tough and proposed that we would at least make it a 5 day tour but we insisted and booked the tour.

We started day 1 with a 6 am pick up at a hotel in Malang. First we had to go for a mandatory medical check-up at a docters office (should have run some bells) and then we continued to Ranu Pane, the mountain village were all hiking’s in the area start.

From Ranu Pane we had a 3 - 4 hour hike ahead to Ranu Kumbolo lake where lunch was planned and then again a 3-4 hike to Kalimati base camp. Because we gained altitude while following the trail to the base camp, we walked through different vegetation types and had some beautiful views over Java.

Ranu Pane, a farming village growing mostly vegetables because of the cooler temperatures.

Semeru, here we come.

Ranu Kumbolo

Kalimati base camp

We reached base camp just before sunset and temperature started to drop fast. We put our tent up and tried to stay warm next to the campfire while the guide and porter prepared a basic but delicious diner. After diner we enjoyed the beautiful starry sky. We went to bed at 8:00 pm because breakfast was planned at 00:15 am but getting some sleep was more like wishful thinking. Because of the ice cold wind and thin mat I only managed to get about 2 hours of sleep. That's no ideal preparation to start the summit attack.

1:00 am, ready to go and get to the summit before sunrise

The summit attack was one of the toughest physical challenges of my life. We were going to gain an elevation of 1000 m in next 4-5 hours on a slope of 45 to 70 degrees inclination walking on extremely slippery volcanic gravel. After 300 m of climbing we past the tree line and had no more protection against the strong, ice cold wind. We had to walk zigzag because of the extreme inclination and every 2 steps forward we slided 1 backward because of the gravel. It was a pitch black night so we had no reference point and every time we asked the guide how long we had to go to the summit, the answer was: a couple of hours.

I cannot describe in words how I felt. I kept thinking how crazy our idea was to do this hike and why we ignored the warnings in Lonely Planet and the signs like the mandatory medical check-up. Despite my thermal underwear and several layers of shirts and sweaters I was getting colder and colder, my hart kept beating in the red zone and my lungs were burning because of the dust and lack of oxygen in the air.

But finally we made it to the top 15 minute before sunrise and the view was breathtaking.

My girlfriend, ice cold but incredibly proud she made it to the top!

On top of the world!!!

The vulcano making it's puff with a very loud bang (does it every 20 min)

The hike down was a special experience. Because of the gravel and steepness we jumped down with huge steps like moonwalkers and enjoyed the beautiful view while doing it.

An attempt to capture the inclination.

dusty...

And back at base camp by 7:00 am.

Time for breakfast and a 6 hour hike to Ranu Pane