Hi guys,
Another comeback from me!
Just want to review my last trip to Mt. Prau on November 6-8, 2015. Actually it was not only Mt. Prau, I also went to some tourism attractions at Dieng Plateau. I had many new experiences here, met lots of new friends, etc. But had to admit, didn’t get many good shots from this trip. Sorry…
Here goes!
This time is actually my 1st time joined an open trip, I found this trip from an Instagram, and they got a really nice CHEAP price. Only IDR 499k for this trip. Really cheap, huh? If you calculate the trip by yourself it should be more than IDR 499k.
As usual we gathered at the meeting point, Kampung Rambutan bus station. Actually the meeting point was at 6 PM, but I was late (so sorry guys..It was all because the traffic jam). We went to Dieng using a mini bus, in fact there were 2 mini busses. I didn’t think that there will be so many participant in that trip. There are 30 of us (I guess). Well, let’s the trip begin.
I have to admit that I never enjoy overland trip, if my financial condition is good, I would definitely choose airplanes than train and busses. I just cannot handle my backache, especially after hiked a mountain that is far from my home. But, well… Let’s enjoy the trip! Sleep all day long until we arrived at Dieng. LOL
After we arrived there, we took our breakfast and prepare our gear to hike Mt. Prau. As usual, never forget to register yourself at the basecamp. We hiked from Patak Banteng basecamp, because it saves more times than if we hike from Dieng basecamp. (Even though what I heard is Dieng’s view is so much better than Patak Banteng).
So, after finished registering ourselves, we started our hike through the village and then we arrived at the field. The weather was not friendly at all, after we arrived at the field, not too long, raindrops start falling on our head. Haha. And it was pretty big actually, the road we have to go was like a mud river combined with some gravels. Sheltered myself at a small shop before 2nd post, because of the river mud (too bad I didn’t get any video of it, my smartphone and camera weren’t waterproof, so I don’t want to risk any of my gadgets).
The rain started to stop, so I continue my way up. Mt. Prau’s path was not like what I expected. I thought it would be much easier, but I was wrong. It was steep and slippery, especially after the rain. Because the dirt was laterite (Tanah Merah) and somehow it looks like Mt. Cikuray’s path. I do somehow worried about others who hike for the first time here, because I guess with this kind of weather and condition, it will stressed them out and wear out their energy so much. And then my guess was right. Hmm.. There are many people who couldn’t push themselves up, because the step was really slippery. Need some teamwork here.
Skip the hard part, after all of that, we finally arrived at the top of Mt. Prau. Some of the participants were exhausted and shivering because of the rain and the cold wind. I had to admit that I and my friend helped the “Porter” (Porter is like a person whom you pay to bring your things, in this case: tents, etc) in setting up the tent because of that reason. Just couldn’t help to see they had to wait again to change their damp clothes (especially women). We brought 10 tents for +/- 30 persons. It took us some time to set up those tents, because the tent’s frame was not labeled properly, so we had to guess which one is the suitable frame for this and that tents.
Tents were set! And it’s time to rest. Did we see the sunset? The answer is no. It was too foggy, couldn’t see a thing. Too bad, since sunset is my favorite. L So, we ate our dinner and rest till the morning. It was pretty crowded at Mt. Prau that day, I didn’t like a crowded mountain, I just couldn’t sleep last night, people’s chattering and yelling, a little bit disturbing for me.
Morning breeze woke us up. It’s pretty cold in the morning. Woke up and got outside the tent to see the sunrise, but unlucky us, the sun couldn’t seek its way to shine through the thick cloud. That morning was so cloudy and we couldn’t see clearly Mt. Sindoro and Mt. Sumbing from there. A disappointment, but well, maybe next time? Since I couldn’t get a clear shot of the pretty view, I got back to my tent and slept another round. Haha.
It’s time to wake up! Time to get things done and go home!
It’s pretty jammed in our way down. Lots of people were trying their best to descend Mt. Prau before it rain again. It rained at the noon, like from 12 PM or so on. And yes, all the way down was slippery because of the rain. My friend recommend to go to Mt. Prau on July – September, he said it’s the best month to visit to Mt. Prau. If you’re skilled enough to use the right side of the pathway, it will be faster than waiting the long line at the left. But be careful, it’s not that easy, rocks and roots all the way down.
After I got down to the basecamp, I packed up my gear and changed clothes before our group went to Candi Arjuna, Kawah Sikidang and Telaga Warna tourism attraction spots. Oh, one more thing, if you like culinary, you should try to buy typical food from Dieng, which is Carica (it’s like a sweetened papaya, but it’s only sold at Dieng).
Finished strolling around and taking photos, off we go to Jakarta again!
That’s it! See you in my next trip! Thank you for reading!
Please use the comment box below if you have any questions to ask!
Don’t hesitate to give me a personal question via email jesch1992@gmail.com
Prodigy On Adventure 