Mt. Papandayan a Truly Fascinating Volcano
October 21, 2008 – 9:22 am
A visit to Mt. Papandayan is one of the most spectacular outings to an active volcano you can make. Golden sulphur crystals, hissing steam, boiling mud and water, blue and black creeks, all set in a large crater with a commanding view over the Garut Plain make this outing an unforgettable experience.
You can easily combine a visit to Mt. Papandayan with a weekend in or near Garut. Also, you can make it a one-day outing from Bandung, in which case you need a good seven to eight hours for the round trip. From Cipanas, expect a round trip to the Mt. Pandayan crater to take three to four hours.
Access to the mountain is easy with any vehicle. Public buses take you only to within 9 km of the crater, so you either have to walk the rest of the way or take an ojek (private motor bike with driver).
Though you can drive directly to the rim of the crater, keep in mind that your safety is not guaranteed-hot steam and boiling water and mud can scald you badly, and many of the sharp-edged rocks are rather loose. Do be careful.
There are two routes to Mt. Pandayan: one from the Garut area in the east and the other from the west via Pangalengan. Note that the two routes do not connect-not even a jeep car drive the 1 km across the crater.
Exploring the Golden Crater
From the car park it’s a 20-minute walk to the middle of the crater, and now you see why it sometimes called the “Golden Crater”-its central part is a dome of yellow sulphur. Sulphur vapor hisses out of many small fissures in the dome to form columns visible from far away.
Shining yellow crystals of crystallized steam are everywhere, and in one place have collected to form a statue-like figure more than 2-meters high. In earlier times local people channeled the steam through pipes to control his crystallization process to be used for commercial purposes. Be extremely careful not to step on one of these old brittle pipes, for it is likely to break and release scalding steam.
You may wish to take a few samples of sulphur with you as souvenirs, but it would be best to wrap them first-sulphuric acid may form and burn holes in fabrics. Apart from sulphur deposits, boiling springs and streams flow in dark blue and gray colors. Be sure to avoid the soft patches of ground.
Through the open northwestern side of the crater a fantastic view stretches before you across the whole Garut Plain and as far as Mt. Ciremai near Cirebon, 80 km away. The Mt. Papandayan crater is truly a visual feast.
Compiled from: All Around Bandung, Exploring The West Java Highlands, Gottfried Roelcke and Gary Crabb
