It’s hard not to lava the off road river experience at Mount Merapi

Mount Merapi (2968m above sea level) is the most active volcano in Indonesia. Typically, small eruptions occur every 2-3 years, and larger ones every 10–15 years or so. The last big eruption was in 2010 when 353 people were killed and over 350,000 people evacuated.

 

I am not trying to frighten you, but you can witness how disastrous the eruption was by taking a lava tour around Merapi. Many operators offer packages at the same price – the only difference is the tour duration: short, medium or long. I took the medium one. Then they will take you on an old jeep to go off-roading around Merapi and stop at some interesting points. The road is dirty and very dusty, so you might need to wear a mask. 

 

In Museum Sisa Hartaku (Remaining Treasure Museum), you can see a house, as well as personal belongings like motorcycles, cutlery, furniture and TVs, that were burned by lava ejection and hot ash clouds.

 

We also passed some villages that were affected, including the mass graveyards, and a big stone that hurdled out of the volcano called Alien Stone. I think it looks like Thanos’ face! 

 

Another interesting spot is Bunker Kaliadem where two volunteers were found dead inside a bunker in an attempt to save themselves from the hot ash. They all left me with an eerie feeling! At the end of the tour, we went to do the real adventure by off-roading in the river.