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Go volcano trekking
You can’t ask for an easier way to
experience the great outdoors. Lying
at the town of Parompong, just
30km from Bandung, the Tangkuban
Prahu has got to be the world’s most
accessible volcano. To get here, just
make a 45-minute drive north through
a smooth, winding road that goes up
these slopes, all the way to the parking
lot at the crater’s edge. The scene that
awaits is so surreal and breathtaking,
it seems almost unworthy of the ease
with which people can get here.
Nevertheless, this fire mountain is
one of West Java’s absolute must-sees.
Its best views, though, are reserved
for those willing to do a bit of trekking.
Bandung’s fiery neighbor has erupted
30 times in the last 40,000 years, its
latest outburst happening as recently
as 1983. Although experts say the
next eruption isn’t due anytime soon,
Tangkuban Prahu’s restless power is
evident throughout this national park.
From the parking lot on the main
crater’s south rim, follow a pathway
leading past numerous food stalls
and souvenir stores until it turns into a
forest walk. From hereon the trail gets
rockier, and the vegetation thicker, as
you move closer to the core. Fumaroles
and the strong smell of sulfur tell you
you’ve reached the end of this trek —
that’s when you find yourself standing
between two volcanic craters, each as
beautiful as they are deadly.
The
Nat Geo
-grade sightseeing
doesn’t end here. There’s a third crater
further down the mountainside for
those who relish a more robust, 1.3km
trek. Yes, Tangkuban Prahu can be as
hard or easy as you want it to be; but
either way, the views are spectacular.
The Tangkuban Prahu
volcano has erupted 30 times
in the last 40,000 years; the
last outburst was in 1983