Gunung Merapi National Park

Central Java

LoginSave

From Kaliurang, there are two entrances to this national park, set on the shoulders of volcanic Gunung Merapi. The more developed entrance on Jl Kaliurang is surrounded by a dozen warungs and offers a more dramatic approach as cliffs loom over a ribbon road. Both gates access just a few kilometres of trails, which lead to caves where Japanese soldiers hid during WWII, and two different hilltop views of Merapi.

Maps at the park entrance delineate the areas open for exploration. Only the foolhardy step beyond the limits: in a sudden eruption, lava can flow down the mountain at 300km/h. A 15-minute walk to the Promojiwo viewpoint offers vistas of Merapi, past a forest incinerated in the 2010 eruption. A roughly 3km hike to Puncak Plawangan offers better views.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Prambanan Temple

    Prambanan Temple

    11.65 MILES

    Comprising the remains of some 244 temples, World Heritage–listed Prambanan is Indonesia's largest Hindu site and one of Southeast Asia's major…

  • Morning in Borobudur Temple

    Borobudur Temple

    15.74 MILES

    Dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, and built from two million blocks of stone, Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist temple and one of Indonesia's…

  • Dwarapala guardian statue at Donopratono gate of the Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, the palace of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, Central Java, Indonesia, January 14, 2018

    Kraton

    15.49 MILES

    Beside the southern alun-alun (main square), Yogya's enormous kraton (palace) is the cultural and political heart of this fascinating city. Effectively a…

  • Sangiran Museum of Ancient Man

    Sangiran Museum of Ancient Man

    29.13 MILES

    With the largest collection of Homo erectus fossils in the world (the bones of 70 individuals), Sangiran is an important archaeological excavation site…

  • Taman Sari

    Taman Sari

    15.65 MILES

    This once-splendid pleasure park of palaces, pools and waterways, built between 1758 and 1765, functioned as the playground of the sultan and his…

  • Mendut Temple & Monastery

    Mendut Temple & Monastery

    13.93 MILES

    This exquisite temple, around 3.5km east of Borobudur, may look insignificant compared with its mighty neighbour, but it houses the most outstanding…

  • House of Danar Hadi

    House of Danar Hadi

    26.25 MILES

    Danar Hadi is one of the world's finest batik museums. The handpicked favourites from the owner's private collection (1078 pieces from a collection of 11…

  • Solo - August, 2021 : Keraton Surakarta Hadiningrat is the official Palace of the Surakarta Hadiningrat Sunanate which is located in Surakarta City which was founded by Sri Susuhunan Pakubuwana II.; Shutterstock ID 2035299296; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Kraton Surakarta

    26.98 MILES

    Once the hub of an empire, today the Kraton Surakarta, established in 1745, is a faded symbol of a bygone era. It’s worth a visit, but much of the kraton…

View more attractions

Nearby Central Java attractions

1. Ullen Sentalu

0.74 MILES

The Ullen Sentalu museum is a surprise find on the slopes of Merapi. Set within a contemporary space, it includes extensive gardens and a unique…

2. Merapi Volcano Museum

1.75 MILES

This impressive museum is located in a striking angular structure that resembles a volcano. Exhibits dedicated to Merapi include a scale model, which…

3. Plaosan Temples

11.46 MILES

Built around the same time as the larger Prambanan temple group, the Plaosan temples combine both Hindu and Buddhist religious symbols in their elaborate…

4. Prambanan Temple

11.65 MILES

Comprising the remains of some 244 temples, World Heritage–listed Prambanan is Indonesia's largest Hindu site and one of Southeast Asia's major…

5. Candi Sambisari

11.7 MILES

This Shiva temple, possibly the latest temple at Prambanan to be erected by the Mataram dynasty, was discovered by a farmer in 1966. Excavated from under…

6. Candi Sari

11.94 MILES

This 8th-century temple has the three-part design of the larger Plaosan temple but is probably slightly older. Some experts believe that its 2nd floor may…

7. Candi Kalasan

12.29 MILES

One of the oldest Buddhist temples on the Prambanan Plain, the 8th-century Candi Kalasan stands just off the main highway, 13km east of Yogyakarta en…

8. Candi Sojiwan

12.34 MILES

The remains of this 9th-century Buddhist temple are 1.5km southeast of Prambaban. Around the temple’s base are carvings from the Jataka (episodes from the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "indonesia/kaliurang-kaliadem/attractions/gunung-merapi-national-park/a/poi-sig/1189487/1318613",
  "destination": "Central-Java",
  "continent": "Asia",
  "country": "Indonesia",
  "region": "Central-Java",
  "position": "superzone"
}