Area: Merapi, East Java, Indonesia
The 12.15am start was pretty brutal, particularly after a night on the train on Friday, but a £20 tour was the only realistic way for me to get up into the ring of volcanoes that forms the Merapi caldera in the Far East of Java. There are numerous reasons for the early start: cooler weather, a view of the sunrise, but mainly the chance of seeing the 'blue flame' at the bottom of the sulphur crater. I wasn't overly bothered about this but as it happened it was showing particularly well at present, a fact that also brought hundreds of extra Indonesian tourists up to the start point. This was highly atmospheric, and very cold as we gathered in the Alpine style hut for coffee at the start (after a steep drive up from Banyuwangi Kota train station, where I was staying at Nitha's homestay). At 2000m+, even in the tropics it is cold at 1.30am: luckily I had plenty of warm mountaineering clothes carried specifically for this. Hundreds of tourists made life difficult for the climb up to the lip of the crater, but to my pleasant surprise the pace was actually not unbearably slow. Above, a stunning display of stars in supremely clear air. As the steepness gave way to a traversing path, I resolved just to enjoy the novel experience of being with hundreds of other people on a volcano, little lights everywhere - almost like a very busy route in the Alps. At the lip of the crater, we started the surprisingly lengthy descent down to the acidic lake and sulphur crater - this was timed to perfection despite the crowds. From time to time, clouds of choking sulphur washed over: I didn't find this as disorientating as I had been led to believe, but it was still unpleasant. I had a gas mask, which helped a little. Despite the crowds, it was pretty memorable - and at the bottom the blue flame roared, in and out of view as the steam rose in giant plumes. It was far more impressive than I had expected, and apparently unusually impressive at present - one of only two places on Earth that the phenomenon occurs. It is ignited sulphur gas, that escapes through cracks at 600C. Molten sulphur is then mined by a group of workers, who carry huge sacks of it back down to sell, fewer (I suspect) than there used to be, as some now act as guides instead. After a while, the fumes get a bit intense so after good views of the flame I climbed back up out of the crater (500m+) and then slipped the leash after a bit of coughing, eyes still stinging. The highest peak was unfeasible so I scampered west up an obvious sandy ridge. This was brilliant, and led to a marked 2726m peak. Lower down, a spur led to sheer drops directly above the acid lake, turquoise in the pre-dawn light. It was all quite stunning, as was the view from the lip of the crater alongside the crowds as I rejoined the group. A simple descent back down to fried bananas in the hut, back to my homestay around 9am. Then it was straight into a taxi to Ketopang, then the Bali ferry to Gillimanuk. Then the bus to Mengwi on the edge of Denpasar, then a taxi to Ubud.
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