As a person that pretty crazy about any kind of mountain especially volcano, Mount Lawu wasn’t really my bucket list. But then, thanks to Merbabu mountain that didn’t allow me to climb due to the fire in the forest. Because of that, I searched for the closest mountain from Central Java I could reach. Then, Mount Lawu caught my attention perfectly. This mountain is located in the border between East Java and Central Java. I do not really know that much about this mountain. But then, since I never heard about this mountain before, so I decided to give a shot.
Based on the information I got from the locals, this mountain is no longer active for a long time ago. But then some locals also said that this volcano is currently resting. Lawu Mountain has three peaks, which are Hargo Dalem, Hargo Dumiling dan Hargo Dumilah (the highest one). I do not remember which peak I climbed before. Anyway, Before I started my journey to the mountain, I went to Candi Cetho in the main gate. It’s actually another tourist attraction around the entrance gate as Candi Cetho is one of the main entrances to reach the peak. Once I arrived at the gate, I just went to a base camp of climbers and put my stuff there. The host was pretty friendly as I could charge my phone, order some drinks and foods as well as showering. Kinda fancy for me haha.
How to get here?
Since I couldn’t climb Mount Merbabu, in Central Java, so I headed to the Boyolali terminal to reach Solo. From Solo, I headed to terminal Karang Pandan to get the bus to Tawangmangu. After that, I needed to go to Pasar Kemuning. From this spot, I hitchhiked to Candi Cetho, the main gate of Mt. Lawu. Mount Lawu is well-known to have really stunning sunrise (like me).
So then, I decided to camp in order to be able to catch the sunset. I left the base camp around 2 pm in the afternoon. The guy gave me maps to direct my journey plus he took my ID card as a legal procedure. I paid less than 50k rupiahs. Then I went trekking super chill since I had so much time before sunset. The trek was pretty chill as not too steep (for me) and the trees covered me from the sun which was super good. The scenery was pretty amazing and the air was just super fresh.
After a few hours, I arrived at the top. Sadly I was a bit cloudy so I couldn’t see the sunset but then I managed to put my tent on and tried to find some dry branches for my campfire during the night because I had the feeling it’s going to be cold. Luckily, I wasn’t raining at all but then still cold. That night was super beautiful because the stars were shining beautifully and with the campfire, the night was just perfect.
The next day, I woke up pretty earlier because I did want to miss my sunset. So I woke up like 5 am then went up around 5 minutes because my tent was not so far away from the spot you can enjoy the sunrise. It was actually the camping ground. I was super lucky because at that time, not so many people so it was super good to be not too crowded. And yes, the sunrise was really amazing. After that, I went back to my tent to get ready for climbing the peak. I left my unimportant stuff. I only brought some biscuits and water with me.
Then, less than 30 minutes, I arrived at the peak. I took a moment of silence enjoying the beauty of the scenery. An hour after, I went down and went to Mbok Yem’s warung for my breakfast. This is my favorite part where I wasn’t starving and didn’t worry at all to be dead because there are small warungs providing foods and selling water but then you know the price is double since it’s in the mountain.
After breakfast, I went back to the basecamp around 10 am in the morning before the sun was super hot. For sure before that, I packed up my stuff and made sure nothing’s left but footprints.
Tips:
- Make sure you check on the internet the availability of the mountain to climb.
- Do not climb when you feel not well. Better for you to take some rest. So then you will be fit.
- Hydrate yourself while climbing. Even though you are not thirsty, but keep drinking water.
- Bring enough water with you if you didn’t want to pay a double price on top.
- Bring your warm clothes as the wind is kinda playful.
- Prepare your raincoat, torch and waterproof tent cover (you never know the weather)
- Please be mindful of setting up the campfire, don’t be too close to the tent cuz you never know the wind might be strong and somehow can be dangerous as well.
- Take care of your belongings.
- DO NOT EVER LEAVE YOUR TRASH! BE RESPONSIBLE!
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