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MOUNT ARJUNO &
MOUNT WELIRANG TREKKING
Arjuna/ Welirang
mountain chain in East Java consists of 4 peaks
over 3,000m from the active Welirang in the west
to the long dormant Arjuna in the East. This
mountain is set in the ancient Mojopahit
heartland and is dotted with temples, graves and
other historical sites which are still visited
by local folk today. The lower slopes are
forested and the upper slopes are covered with
tussock and a type of local alpine pine tree.
The lalijiwo plateau between the twin peaks of
Kembar and Arjuna is noted for deer and wild
pigs. Most tracks start off in good condition
but as one gets higher the tracks frequently
dissappear or turn into a multitude of trails
left by animals and lost hikers!
Getting There
The mountain is located about 50km south East of
Surabaya and it is easy to rent a taxi from
Juanda (Surabaya) airport to take you to Tretes.
(or anywhere else for that matter!)
Tretes is a mountain resort town with lots of
hotels and guesthouses to suit any budget. A
good place to spend a few days chilling out.
Guides, porters and supplies can be got here.
There are three main routes on the mountain.
The most popular starts from the village of
Tretes and follows a wide trail to the Sulphur
carriers camp located at a water source between
Arjuna and Welirang. From here, one can turn
left and head for Lalijiwo Plateau and Arjuna or
continue on to the active Welirang.
Another route starts above Selecta above Batu to
the South.
A further route climbs directly to Arjuna from
Lawang in the East.
The Routes
From Tretes.
Ask around in Tretes to be directed to the start
of the trail which heads off behind the
forrestry post on a good trail. The trail,
(which is surfaced with rocks painstakingly
handplaced) winds on steadily upwards towards
Welirang and the sulphur camp.
In someplaces the trail has been severely damged
by the carts the men are hauling down full of
sulphur and they have formed several dusty
shortcuts as well. Stick to the rock path or
follow up the dusty shotcut as there are no
turnoffs and the trails soon rejoin. Takes 4-5
hours at a relaxed pace to reach the Pondok.
From the Pondok to Welirang should not take more
than 3 hours and a further 2 hours to scale the
Kembar twins and descend into the saddle
campsite.
SELEKTA TO GUNUNG
ARJUNO
From Selekta either walk, or ride a motorbike,
to Kampung Junggo. The trek begins among
asparagus plantations. After 1.5 hours walking
you enter montane forest, where a narrow
footpath winds up Arjuno's western slope. This
path is often hidden under thick ferns,
particularly after the rainy season.
After 3 hours you should reach the top of a 100
m gorge. This is an excellent picnic spot. Keep
quiet and you might see black and red monkeys on
the opposite side of the canyon.
The path continues precipitously to Arjuno's
peak region where some sections are as steep as
45 degrees. After another 2 hours of crawling
between tall conifers you reach the tree line
and an open plateau. Keep left at the turnoff:
the path on the right descends to Singosari and
Malang.
It's another 30 minutes from the plateau to the
peaks (6 to 7 hours in all frorn Kampung Junggo).
A few hundred meters below Arjuno's summit look
for a big cave on your left, this is a useful
spot to bivouac in bad weather. If the weather's
clear when you arrive at Arjuno's summit, which
lies at 3,339 rn above sea level, you get
stunning views of East Java's volcanoes
stretching into the distance.
A steep and arduous path leads from the summit
to Lalijiwo Plateau. After 12 noon it often gets
very misty along this section : sometimes you
can't even see your guide walking directly in
front of you. If the mist descends do not stray
from the footpoth: in certain places it winds
alongside a deep, invisible nothing.
Take it easy and allow two hours to reach the
fairytale-like Lalijiwo Plateu. Hight meadows of
alang-alang grass with muddy swamps, pools of
clear mountain water, surrounded by stands of
tree fern, groups of rustling casuarinas and
pretty alpine flowers await you at this idyllic
resting place. If you don't want to bivouac on
Arjuno's icy summit or foggy Lalijiwo Plateau,
make sure you leave the summit by 2 pm to ensure
that you can reach Pondok Welirang, the sulphur
colectors' camp, which lies at 2, 400 m.
Continue nortwest after the pools at Lalijiwo
and find the path with a plastic tube snaking
along it. The tube provides the sulphur men with
fresh drinking water, and climbers with freezing
ahowers. Just follow it and 30 minutes later you
enter a clearing in which lies Pondok Welirang,
looking like a Tibetan mountain village.
TO WELIRANG & BACK TO BASE
Leave the camp before daybreak (4:30-5 am) to
give you enough time to explore Gunung
Welirang's craters and descend to Tretes without
undue haste. From the camp start on the trail
which climbs straight up. The turnoff to, the
left behind the watertank leads back to Gunung
Arjuno, Lalijiwo and back down to Selekta.
After ascending at a gentle 15 degrees, the
rocky trail suddenly becomes steep. It climbs up
onto the small Bluntu plateau, winds around some
smaller peaks on the saddle between both
volcanoes, and finally zigzags up Welirang's
steep flank from the southeast.
Around 3 hours later you reach Welirang's flat
crater complex. The first one you pass is
extinct but a bit higher up is a bigger, active
crater. WARNING: Do not stand on the edge of the
crater rim, especially if it is still dark.
Crater walls consist of porous ash and loose
debris, and are often overhanging. Just a small
step too far and that's it...
From the highest point (3,156 m) you can enjoy
marvelous views over the region. Try to get here
before 9 am, when clouds begin to travel frorn
the humid lowlands and engulf the surrounding
area, including you, by noon.
To witness the sulphur collectors doing their
hellish work, trek back to the extinct crater.
Off the main trail to the west lies a track that
descends 100 m to a parasitic crater which faces
the Selekta valley. This is called "the kitchen"
and it is Welirang's acidic heart. Here
sulphurous vapor condenses to form a yellow mass
which workers gather in blocks. After carefully
loading A steep and arduous path leads from the
sum- their baskets they carry the sulphur down
the mit to Lalijiwo Plateau. After 12 noon it
often rocky serpentine paths-some only wearing
slippers and smoking kretek cigarets.
To get to Tretes by public bemo, continue for
200 m beyond the gate, turn right and continue
for another 200 m until you reach the Tanjung
Plaza Hotel. Wait opposite it for minibuses
heading for Pandaan.
If you want to continue back to Selekta, go to
Pandaan and change onto another minibus to
Malang (Pattimura statior-0. From there take a
minibus to Batu and another one to Selekta
(around 2.5 hours and Rp2,000 in total). You'll
reach your losmen much more exhausted than the
sulphur-men arrive in Tretes, and you will be
two kilograms lighter than when you began.
Itinerary trek to
Mount Arjuno
Day 01
05.00 - 05.40 Travel
from Lawang to Tambak Watu
Check in at park ranger station;
06.10 Start trek
06.45 Cave ontoboego
08.05 Pos II Tampuono
08.40 Pos III Eyang Sokri
10.15 Pos IV Semar Conservation area
11.10 Pos V Makutoromo, Lunch break
13.23 Continue trek
13.35 Arrive at Candi Sepilar
15.30 Jawa Dwipa
19.00 Overnight
Day 02
06.52 Summiting
07.20 Arrive on Summit
08.45 Walk down, breakfast and pack
10.30 Continue to walk down
13.50 Savanas trek
14.35 Arrive at Pos kaliandra
16.50 Arrive at pos Kamling tea plantation of
Wonosari and return to Lawang
Source : Tom Otte
and David Donalson |
