The Beauty of Mount Semeru, Paradise for Climbers

The Beauty of Mount Semeru, Paradise for Climbers

Mount Semeru is included in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area. With an area of ​​50,273 hectares, this national park is also the location of other mountains such as Mount Bromo, Mount Batok and Mount Widodaren. But among all these mountains, Mount Semeru is the most towering with an altitude of 3,676 meters above sea level.

Mount Semeru is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. According to records, every 20 minutes this mountain issued a puff of smoke which is commonly called the 'Wedhus gembel' in the local language. Apart from smoke, mountains also emit other materials such as sand and gravel.

Mount Semeru with its peak named Mahameru is very popular among climbers. This mountain seems to be a magnet that continues to attract the attention of climbers to come and conquer its height.

The first climber who managed to set foot on this peak was Clignet, a Dutch nationality (1838), then followed by Van Gogh (1911) and Junhuhn (1945). After that, climbers from outside and within the country continue to arrive and make the climb

Besides being a climbing location, Mount Semeru also becomes a tourist spot. Located in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area, this mountain is also rich in vegetation and is a habitat for many types of fauna. Along the way up, at certain points you can find edelweiss flowers and Semeru endemic orchids.

By the Hindu community in Bali, Mount Semeru is considered the Father of the Mountain and the abode of Dewa Shiwa. This also led to the holding of offerings as a tribute to Lord Shiwa and the prayer of salvation as well as blessings for the surrounding community.

Climbing Route

To climb Mount Semeru, you need to prepare physically well because the trip to the top of Mahameru is not easy. Make sure you bring hiking gear and leave behind unneeded items so as not to burden you. The following climbing routes you can take to reach the top of Mahameru:

Ranupane - Ranu Kumbolo

Your journey will start from Ranupane towards Ranu Kumbolo through Watu Rejeng. You can hire a guide or walk the path to Ranu Kumbolo. The trip will take around 3 hours.

Ranu Kumbolo - Kalimati

The journey from Ranu Kumbolo to Kalimati will really spoil your eyes. This 3 hour trip offers amazingly beautiful scenery, expanses of grassland and flowers. Leave Ranu Kumbolo, don't forget to fill a drinking bottle because after this you will not find another source of water.

Arriving at Kalimati, you can set up a tent to spend the night. The scenery at night is no less beautiful, lay your body and enjoy a cluster of stars that are extraordinarily beautiful.

Kalimati - Mahameru

This is the last session of the journey to the top of Mahameru. From Kalimati, leave around 2 in the morning to be able to watch the beautiful sunrise views.

The air temperature in Mahameru ranges from 10-4 degrees Celsius, it can even reach minus during drought and ice crystals are not uncommon. Fog usually comes in the afternoon, evening and night. In addition, wind storms often occur between January - December

The History of Mount Semeru

Mount Semeru becomes an important mountain in the teachings of Hinduism. According to the book Tantu Pagelaran, Mount Semeru was originally located in India under the name Mount Meru which was later moved to Java.

Java Island is told as an island that oscillates in the middle of the ocean. Seeing the state of Java, the gods also felt they had to do something. Finally it was decided to move Mount Meru and serve as a peg or nail so that the island of Java would not shake.

In an effort to move this mountain, Lord Shiwa was transformed into a giant turtle that carried Mount Meru and swam towards Java, while Dewa Brahma was transformed into a snake that wrapped his body around the mountain and the back of the turtle.

Up at the western end of the island, the two gods put the mountain there, but this made the east end of the island lifted due to heavy burdens in the west. Finally, the mountain was moved to the east end. When moving, mountain fragments were scattered along the way so as to create mountain ranges from west to east of Java Island until now.

After Mount Meru was placed, Java Island still could not be aligned, so it was decided to cut a portion of Mount Meru and placed it in the northwestern part of Java Island. This piece is then believed to be Mount Pananggungan.