Climbing Mount Karangetang Volcano In Siau, Sulawesi
Mount Karangetang is an superior Jurassic Park-looking volcano that dominates the distant island of Siau in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
You may’t go wherever on tiny Siau island with out seeing this majestic volcano and its twin smoking craters. In the event you’re fortunate, you might even get to see it spouting molten lava and rock bombs at evening, which it does fairly typically.
On this information, I’ll share my expertise mountain climbing the Karangetang volcano in 2021, and I’ll give some ideas in case you intend to climb it your self.
Is It Secure?
To begin with, let’s speak about security. Karangetang is a extremely energetic volcano — in all probability probably the most energetic volcanoes on the planet.
The native guides are educated and any seismic exercise is monitored by the Indonesian authorities, however there’s nonetheless loads of danger concerned in climbing this mountain. It could erupt at any time.
You may climb to the highest of Karangetang in case you’re feeling further loopy, however to be secure most individuals solely hike partway up the mountain and peep on the smoking craters from a distance (and even that could be a bit dangerous).
Climbing any energetic volcano in Indonesia carries some hazard clearly, however this one is unusually energetic, so proceed at your personal danger.
My Native Information: Dominik
I’d extremely advocate going with an area information for this hike, as a result of the path is difficult to navigate in any other case.
I did this hike with Dominik, an area information in Siau island with a few years of expertise climbing Karangetang. His brother additionally joined us for the hike and helped clear vegetation with a machete, and their canine got here alongside too.
You may contact Dominik by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 853-9866-6999. I paid 600k Rupiah for this hike, though that was throughout Covid and the costs are increased now.
He also can assist organize different excursions and actions within the space, though we set these up by way of the Kalea Seashore Resort, the place we stayed in Siau.
Mount Karangetang: What To Count on
• Beginning The Hike
My guides and I began this hike very early as a result of I wished to you should definitely get clear views of the volcano.
That turned out to be a great determination, as a result of once we exited the treeline some thick clouds started to roll in, slowly obscuring the summit.
There was a 30 minute scooter experience to the trailhead on the south facet of the volcano, after which we began mountain climbing at 3:15 AM.
• In The Jungle
Our progress was gradual due to the loopy terrain. It was darkish and the trail was strong jungle!
There was extraordinarily dense foliage because the path had principally been deserted throughout Covid, which meant my guides needed to hack by way of it with a machete. Each step required one other swing with the machete.
Alongside the best way, we noticed a lot of large inexperienced millipedes, which have been innocent, however we additionally bumped into a large centipede, which was extra threatening since they will chew. He raised up in an assault place, and the guides advised me their chew actually hurts.
Navigating the path was difficult by the truth that it was so steep, muddy, and slippery. We fell lots.
It was by no means harmful when it comes to drop-offs, though I used to be somewhat apprehensive about one among us falling on my information’s machete or one thing like that.
• Previous Lava Area
After about 2.5 hours of mountain climbing, we reached an outdated lava discipline under the summit, simply in time for dawn.
Climbing these lava rocks wasn’t a lot better than going by way of the jungle. A few of them have been mossy and very slippery, and I bloodied my shins from falling on the rocks a number of occasions, despite the fact that I used to be sporting good grippy footwear.
For security causes, we stopped within the lava discipline. We have been about two-thirds of the best way to the summit and didn’t imply to go any farther because the volcano is notoriously energetic.
From right here, I spent about an hour flying my drone and testing the summit. This volcano is de facto fascinating as a result of it has twin smoking cones on the summit. So cool!
By the point we began our descent at 7:25 AM, the summit was already largely lined in clouds. Taking place was simpler because the path was already cleared, however it nonetheless took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
If I had 9 lives, I’d like to climb all the best way to the summit and see the craters up shut. Despite the fact that we stopped earlier than the summit, Karangetang was an amazing hike and we acquired some nice views!
When To Do The Hike
Siau island has a tropical rainforest local weather much like Manado and the remainder of North Sulawesi.
The driest months are July to October, and people are one of the best months to hike Karangetang.
We visited Siau in June and the climate was good throughout our journey.
My Journey Information For Siau Island
Thanks for wanting! I hope you loved this weblog put up about climbing the Mount Karangetang volcano in Indonesia.
Don’t neglect to take a look at my full information for Siau island earlier than you go! This place has some wonderful seashores, tarsiers, and different issues to see.