It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28kilometres 17mi north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano with villages as high as 1,700metres 5,600ft above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

There are three options available for the Merapi Lava Tour. These are short, Medium and long route. The short route consists of an 1,5-2 hours’ journey around Merapi. Each Jeep can comfortably fit three passengers, but you can squeeze in up to five passengers if you need to.

This is a modest museum that was established by a small family Mr. Kimin and Mrs. Wati. Museum Sisa Hartaku can be translated to My Remaining Treasure Museum. The museum is actually within their house. This house was affected by the Merapi eruption in 2010. The family (Initiated by their first child) created this museum to inform people about the last Merapi eruption.

Various personal things that were owned by the family are displayed at the museum such as: motorcycles, clothing, cutlery, furniture, pets, television and much more. The hands of the clock are stuck forever at the moment of the eruption.

During the tour you will pass through several villages that were affected by the Merapi eruption. Some of the villages are now fields farmed by the locals. In these villages you will see abandoned buildings in the middle of these fields.

Alien stone, there is one big stone that is called Alien stone (Batu Alien) that was hurled out of the volcano during the eruption. The surroundings here are picturesque. During the Merapi Lava Tour you will come to the edge of a cliff where you can see one of the massive rivers around Merapi. Please be really careful when you are enjoying the view from the edge of the cliff as it is pretty high.

The bunker is located in Kaliadem and is no longer used anymore. Two people were found dead inside this bunker in 2006 (Eruption). They tried to save themselves by entering the bunker and were trapped by debris from the eruption of Mount Merapi. They were covered with up to 6 feet of debris. The ash was as hot as 572 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo by: Sakura