Traces of Merapi at Kaliadem

Symbols of glory and traces of misery of the present and the past may end up with the same fate, tourist hot spots, and many remain that way for years without significant changes both to the places, and to the survivors. And here are one of them, traces of deadly hot lava of the past, sent at full speed by one of the most volatile and dangerous volcanoes in the world, Mount Merapi, has now become a popular tourist attraction at Kaliadem. It is close to where mBah Marijan, the famous guardian of Merapi, lives.

The roads to the site were in good conditions. The driver told me that it was mBah Marijan who spent some of his fortune as a model in ads of an energy drink product to fix the once severely damaged roads. He also donated his money to renovate a mosque near his home.

Entrance fee was IDR.5,000 per person and another IDR.5,000 for parking. From the parking lot, I walked up to a hill of about 500 meters away where I saw several small warung and shops selling drink, snacks, souvenirs and t-shirts.

There on the left side of the flat area, I could see piled of lava covering a huge ascending area that were once belonging to Bebeng Tourism Garden and several houses.


Si Mbah (a grandma) was having a light moment with her grand children while attending her merchandise, flowers of the high mountain, Edelweiss. She was sitting on the sea of the once dangerous Merapi's molten rocks and lava.


A group of teenagers were descending from the top of the hill, near the river bank.


Row of destroyed houses, half-buried with lava and rocks, were parts of the silent traces of the mighty eruption.


The above valley of river was once fully loaded with lava. Merapi's molten rocks and lava have become source of first class building materials till today.


Part of damaged dam that was intended to control flow of lava from Merapi. The speed and the huge quantity of the lava were too strong for the dam.


A young couple was seen tracking the path across the river towards the higher ground of Mount Merapi.


Scene of the destroyed river with remaining rocks and lava was taken from near the dam. In a clear sky, people can clearly see Mount Merapi from this place.


Picture of mBah Marijan's house was taken from a distance on the way down from Kaliadem. I didn't made a stop to greet him at his house though.

Merapi, literally means Mount of Fire, is just a few kilometers away from city of Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. It has erupted 68 times since 1548, and the last major eruption was on June 8, 2006, shortly after Yogya's tectonic earthquake, sending Wedhus Gembel or Shaggy Goat (high speed superheated cloud of gas) as far as 5km from the summit, spewing 500 m high column of ashes, and hurling million cubic of molten lava.

Spare your time for Kaliadem trip when you are in Yogyakarta to appreciate the power of nature when it shows its ugly's face.

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