Mount Krakatau

For travelers who love extreme places and challenging adventure, this volcano is the right place to visit. Krakatau is one of the most active volcanoes located on Sunda strait between Java and Sumatra island. It's very easy to get there since it's located not very far from Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia. From Jakarta you can take a bus to Merak harbor on the western side of Java island then take a ferry to Bakauheni port in Sumatra, from there you should continue your journey to Canti. Canti is the nearest port to Krakatau built and used by fishermen, here you can charter a fisherman ship to take you to Krakatau bay which will take about 4 hours journey. There's no accommodation in this area but you can build a camp in a valley about 50 m from the beach.


Along the way you will see extraordinary dramatic and mysterious view of the mountain. this mountain is always covered by mystery just like the story of its first time occurrence which was full of surprise.

The story began from the eruption of Krakatau mountain on august 27th 1883. The history said that it was a tremendous eruption which shook the world. Its larva sprayed about 80 km height while the dust floated around the earth for years. During the time, the people in North America and Europe saw blue sunlight and orange moon. The eruption caused 40 m tide wave that wiped the beaches on Lampung bay and the west bay of Banten area. The victims of this disaster was said about 36.000 deaths. The sound of Krakatau explosion was said to be heard from Singapore and Australia. It also caused earthquake not only in Java and Sumatra but also in Southern Australia, Srilanka and Phillipine. After the eruption the mountain was destroyed and then formed three small islands : Sertung island, Panjang island and Krakatau Besar island.

40 years later in 1927 the fishermen was surprised by the black smoke on the sea surface on the middle of the three islands. A year later a new volcano emerged from the sea right on the spot where the fishermen saw the black smoke. The people named this new volcano "Anak Krakatau" or "The Child Of Krakatau". Everyday this mountain grows about 1 cm and it never stops erupting. It's very beautiful to see the eruption from Sebesi island which is about 8 miles away from Anak Krakatau, it's like seeing a fire work in new years eve.

Climbing Krakatau mountain could be a memory that you won't easily forget, now this mountain has two peaks ; Rakata besar (813 m) and Anak Krakatau (280 m). Not so many flora you can find in this mountain, you can only see pine and coconut trees grow in this mountain. the fauna are also very few, here you can only find a few kinds of species like biawak (Varanus salvator), green turtle (Cholonia midas), Phyton, big bat (Pteropus vampirus) Raja udang bird (Alcedo atthis), a few kinds of lizard and butterflies.

You can only climb to the spine of the mountain which is the end of the permitted safe area. Here is the area of hot black sand and the wind is very strong in this area. Truly an unforgettable experience.

* If you wish to visit Indonesia, please go to Indonesia travel tips page.