Merapi Lava Tour
When we hear volcanic eruption, we mainly think of lava oozing out and destroying everything in its path.
Lava, however, flows very slowly. You can usually outrun the flow easily.
What you cannot outrun, and what causes the real damage are pyroclastic flows, a fancy name for a mix of hot gases, volcanic ash and debris from the eruption. They spiral out at over 100 km/h and have even been recorded to flow at 700km/hr. Even worse, they are scorching. A flow can raise temperatures by 800 degree celsius.
A lot of damage from a volcanic eruption is due to this flow.
We witnessed the destructive potential of one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, Mt. Merapi during our visit to Yogyakarta.
Merapi, which translates into mountain of fire, erupts every few years, though with varying intensity. The last large eruption was recorded in 2010, which led to over 300 deaths and evacuation of 350000 people from surrounding villages. An estimated 3000 cows were also killed along with various other domestic animals. There are smaller eruptions every 6 years or so; the last recorded eruption was in March 2023, which, thankfully, did not cause any damage.
The Merapi region hosts a uniquely named Lava Tour. You do not get to see lava (or thankfully, any eruptions or pyroclastic flows) but you do get to visit places hit by the eruption.
The tour is interesting even before you get going. Most of the vehicles used (no surprise) are 4 wheel drive vehicles. What is surprising is that many of these are from ancient US military vintage. We spotted jeeps from 1951 with US Army insignia, still being used to ferry tourists to hotspots.
The tour starts with a visit to a village that was destroyed by the eruption. There is also a visit to a specific house that is now converted to a museum. One can see how unexpected and disruptive the eruption was. Bulls that were used for farming are scorched to their bones. Metal utensils are bent out of shape due to the intense heat. A TV nearby has a picture tube that’s exploded. A sewing machine, made of stronger material, lies coated with ash.
Vehicles too have not fared well. The central piece is a van with its paint eroded to expose bare metal. There is no glass on the windshield or windows — it melted away. Anything that’s not metal — seat covers, plastics, mats — all have vaporised. The artefact is made starker due to money face carved on a coconut that dangles within the car.
Nearby, two wheelers are twisted out of shape. Glass utensils are heavily distorted. Even coins have all markings erased.
But all is not desolate on the tour.
The tour also covers areas that symobilize hope and revival, much like the nearby flora. A volcanic eruption throws out a lot of ash and minerals, and while they wipe out nearby flora, they also provide great fertilizer for plants to grow back once after the first rain. Indeed, the areas around the volcano were lush green.
Taking from the theme, the Merapi Lava Tour also covers more ‘touristy’ areas — a Lost World theme park which has man-made structures and buildings shaped like the shire of Lord of the Rings. There are regular activities you’d expect in a theme park — photo spots, adventure activities and more.
There is also an alien rock point: a huge stone which resembles a face. The park has a part of the structure painted red to symbolise lava flows. We noticed people building new structures for tourists nearby.
Seeing the activity, we wondered how people were so confident to rebuild homes and tourist attractions so close to the volcano. Our guide told us that since the major eruptions, they have taken pains to ensure that they track seismic activity closely. In case of any aberrations, they evacuate the area quickly. Each guide carries a walkie-talkie to report or get news of any activity. They also know the rhythm of the volcano — they expect devastating eruptions every 100 years or so, and smaller ones every 6 years or so. The last one was in March 2023, he told us, but the lava flowed briefly in a direction away from the villages.
We left the area with mixed thoughts. Nature can be brutal, but humans can be resilient in the face of danger. And hope still drives humans forward.
