Travel Guide Gunung Tambora

The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 remains to this day one of the most violent ever recorded, surpassing even that of Krakatau in 1883. For several years prior to the cataclysm, black smoke billowed from the crater, foreshadowing the disaster to come. On April 5, 1815, the impressive mountain awoke with such terrifying force and noise that Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British soldier and naturalist (famous for being the founder of Singapore), then in Batavia, 1,250 km away, believed it was an attack and mobilized his troops.On April 12, 1815, a gigantic explosion shot some 151 km³ of material into the air, spreading ash and rock over a 50 km radius. The eruption created a climatic calamity, with persistent atmospheric dust. The dark days that followed covered the island in ash, causing a devastating famine that decimated the survivors of the tsunami and cholera, taking 92,000 lives.The land of Sumbawa remained infertile for a long time, and the volcano lost 1,252 meters in height, leaving a huge crater 11 km in diameter. Today, four volcanoes stand on this site steeped in history, a reminder of the destructive and regenerative power of nature. It's a site that inspires awe and wonder, testifying to the implacable strength and resilience of our planet.