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Mount Merapi Not Just a Legend and Mythology

Volcano·IndonesiaIndonesia

Merapi

2,910m

Summit weather

Rosalia.silaban · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
2,910m
Prominence
1,356m
Relief
1,847mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
46°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
NoneSee month by month ↓
Summit
7.5403°S, 110.4464°E

Active volcano in Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Merapi is a volcano in Indonesia. Its summit stands 2,910 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 1,356 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,063 m), it rises 1,847 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 33° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 46° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Boyolali, 16 km away at 438 m: 2,472 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Merapi for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.5/10

Difficulty to the top

Hike

Most path sections around the top are T1 on the SAC hiking scale.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 1.1/2.53 waymarked routes and 6 path sections nearby
  • 0.5/1.52 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,472 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.4/1.51,356 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Merapi

In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Merapi, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average September afternoon the summit reaches about 19 °C; on August nights it falls to about 6 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In September the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,780 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, August is the driest month (32 mm) and February the wettest (346 mm).

2,000 m4,000 m6,000 mSUMMIT · 2,910 mBOYOLALI · 438 mJanuary: 5,920 mFebruary: 5,880 mMarch: 5,940 mApril: 6,000 mMay: 5,980 mJune: 5,940 mJuly: 6,060 mAugust: 6,440 mSeptember: 6,780 mOctober: 6,740 mNovember: 6,280 mDecember: 6,000 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CBoyolali high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January159275,920346274.9
February159275,880346264.6
March159285,940207255.3
April159286,000185226.4
May158285,980138167.4
June157285,94091127.6
July166286,0605477.9
August186306,4403258.5
September197326,7807078.3
October198326,740131167.2
November179296,280217236.0
December159286,000281264.9

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 356 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
2,910 m817 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
2,910 m743 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 26°NNE: 24°NEE: 23°ESE: 32°SES: 32°SSW: 31°SWW: 33°WNW: 33°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Merapi

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Merapi seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • 2mountain huts and shelters

    New Selo, Posko Pendakian Sapuangin

  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • 3waymarked hiking routes

    Gunung Merapi (New Selo BC), Gunung Merapi (Sapuangin BC), Gunung Merapi (Babadan BC)

  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • 25viewpoints

    Ketep, Panorama View, Petilasan Mbah Marijan Kinahrejo, Viewpoint Lava Solidified Merapi and 21 more

  • 12campsites

    Pasar Bubrah, Pos 1 Dok Malang, Pos Bayangan, Camp Yoyok and 8 more

  • 89hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    Abadi, Adi Pangestu 2, Andhika, Anugeah Wisata 2 and 85 more

  • 37restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

6 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T3
  • T1 hiking
  • T3 demanding mountain hiking

Towns at the foot

  • Boyolali16 km · 438 m
  • Muntilan18 km · 377 m
  • Jogonalan21 km · 223 m
  • Sleman22 km · 210 m
  • Kebonarun22 km · 193 m
  • Melati23 km · 187 m
  • Karanganom23 km · 217 m
  • Candi Prambanan24 km · 157 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

A cloudy merapi mountain
Mimar23 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Di Bawah Kaki Merapi
Duduhsadarachmat · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average151515151515161819191715
2020+1.2+0.9+0.6+0.2+0.3±0.0−0.9−0.8−1.2−2.2−1.0−0.9
2021−0.6−0.6±0.0−0.2+0.3−0.1−0.4−1.2−2.5−2.0−1.7−0.2
2022±0.0±0.0±0.0+0.1±0.0−0.7−1.0−2.2−2.9−3.9−1.8−0.2
2023−0.3−0.2+0.5+0.2+0.1+0.3−0.7±0.0+1.0+4.0+2.0+1.1
2024+0.9+1.4+0.9+0.5+0.9+0.6±0.0+0.1−1.1−0.4−0.5−0.2
2025−0.1+0.2+0.2+0.3−0.3−0.1−1.0−2.0−2.5−2.4−1.8−0.2

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q134108) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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