Travel Guide Mont Sibayak

The ascent of Gunung Sibayak is a beautiful walk. You don't need a guide, just use the GPS applications on your smartphone. However, if you feel you need a guide, it will cost you around Rp 200,000 per person, including transport from your hotel to the volcano entrance, the cost of tickets to the hot springs and transport back. To reach the start of the trek, take a green Kama bemo to its terminus. From there, it's a 3-hour climb to the summit at 2,095 m altitude. Leave early in the morning to avoid the heat and, above all, the clouds that envelop the summit. You'll discover a narrow valley whose slopes emit hissing, nauseating sulfurous fumaroles. The crater is filled by a seasonal pool at the bottom of which your predecessors inscribed their names by laying stones end to end, as is done in all volcanoes. The descent is easy for those with good knees. Along the way, you pass through plantations and arrive at hot-water pools (artificial, not natural) that redden your skin like beautiful steamed lobsters (although they're not exactly squeaky clean). From here, take a bemo for the remaining 4 km (irregular frequency).