Mount Merapi — whose name means 'Mountain of Fire' in Javanese — is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It looms 28 kilometres north of Yogyakarta, and on clear days its perfect cone is visible from the city centre. The mountain is in near-constant low-level activity, with major eruptions every few decades: 1930, 1994, 2006, 2010. Despite this, several villages on its slopes remain inhabited, partly out of necessity and partly because the volcanic soil is extraordinarily fertile.
The 2010 eruption devastated the upper slopes and the most popular way to experience Merapi now is by jeep through the zone of destruction. Guides drive you past villages buried in ash, the ruins of evacuated settlements, and the erosion gullies carved by lahars (volcanic mudflows). It is a sobering landscape — nature overwhelming human infrastructure — and the guides, many of whom lost their own homes, tell the story with matter-of-fact precision. Jeep tours take about two hours and depart from Kaliurang, a hill resort town on the lower slopes accessible by local bus from Yogyakarta. The summit can be climbed by experienced hikers with a guide; the trail starts at Selo on the northern side and takes about four hours up.