Mount Karangetang (Api Siau)

1,827 m (5,994 ft)

It takes an entire (long) day to reach the summit of Mount Karangetang, with an ascent time of roughly 4 hours and a descent time of roughly 5.5 hours. There are shorter trails available which lead to old lava flows on the lower slopes of the volcano. These can be accessed when volcanic activity is low, and it is safe to do so.

The hike itself is not particularly testing of your endurance if you are a hiker. For the average person, however, this would be a very challenging climb as the terrain is quite tricky and can be very technical in places. There is toxic gas in the air, coming from spitting fume holes and it is difficult to get your footing due to the instability of multiple stones underfoot.

Mount Karangetang has a north peak, a south peak, and five summit craters. There are a few options when it comes to going up Karangetang. You can take a walk to one of several old lava flows on the lower slopes, or you can forge your own path to the summit.

A hike to any of the old lava flows starts off in the town with a gentle gradient, which gets a little bit steeper after the first hundred meters. This incline leads through an area that has dispersed trees, as well as coconut and banana plantations.

As you get past the plantations, the terrain gets steeper, and you enter a dense jungle forest. Through the forest, you find your way to one of several lava flows which takes about 30 minutes, or an hour, depending on which lava flow you go to/which route you take.

There is an old lava flow on the Southeastern side which is near Dame (a village). When taking this route, it is important to stay closer to the southern side of the path so as not to land up on the lower (second) crater. There is also a lava flow on the southern side as well.

Another option starts from the northern side. You approach from Dame, or from Dompase. The Dompase option starts on a cement track. It takes less than 30 minutes to hike to the end of the track where you’ll find the beginning of the lava flows and big angular rocks protruding from the ground. These lava flows lead to the summit. If you go at night, you might see the orange tracks of lava.

There is another trail called Lintatua which is not far from the main town of Ulu.

If you wish to hike to the summit, you would continue on from the lava flows. No path leads to the summit, so your guide will have to hack one for you using a machete. The “path” is overgrown with roots and vegetation and can be slippery and muddy. There are loose rocks the whole way that have moss growing on them at the start of this section (just after the lava flows). There are also lots of small pebbles which roll around beneath your feet and make it tricky to take a confident step without slipping and stumbling. It is easy to sprain your ankle if you step wrong, and easy to get injured by stones falling from above if your step disrupts them. There are places where you may have to scramble on all fours to get up or down without falling.

As you go higher there is a greater diversity in the size of the rocks. There are smaller stones but also giant boulders and everything in between. The higher you go the less moss there is growing on the rocks, and the sharper the rocks become. There are places where it is necessary to scramble using these sharp rocks to hold onto. This is extra difficult to navigate when descending the mountain because you have gravity pulling you down while you battle to find good footing on a steep decline.

Near the summit, there are piles of big black angular volcanic rocks. These rocks are very sharp. At the summit, you can see steam rising on the sides. You can’t really look into the crater as the sulphur in the air is toxic and you can’t get too close.

The weather is fairly constant the entire year. Temperatures do not differ much between seasons. It is usually very rainy all year round, but the dryer months are between July and September. The best time of day to attempt the climb would be the early morning, before cloud cover sets in. Afternoons bring heavy showers.

A very tough set of hiking shoes is needed for this hike and a pair of high-quality gloves. The stones underfoot are very sharp and will shred your shoes, as well as your hands when you inevitably have to grab onto them, walking on all fours to make your way up certain sections. Hiking poles would be helpful to use to keep your balance and to navigate the difficult sections.

There is no water or food available at the start of the trail, on the trail, or at the summit. There may be one rest stop, but it is not equipped with man-made shelter. You will have to take lots of water with you, which can be purchased from Manado before you leave.

Finding a guide to take you to the summit is very difficult, and expensive. Guides must have extensive experience and they are required by regulation to bring more than one person to accompany tourists up the mountain just in case a member of the party can’t reach the summit and needs a guide to take them back down the mountain. They are also required to be certified by the Indonesian government.

The guide company will therefore usually organize a driver, and a porter as well as include multiple guides in the party.

Getting a local or a guide to take you to the lava flows on the lower slopes on the other hand is not too difficult and can be arranged.

The starting point of the hike is in the small town of Ulu on Siau Island, off the coast of North Sulawesi. The quickest way to get there is by a 4-hour boat ride from Manado (the regional capital city) or a two-hour boat ride from Tahuna. These boat rides only happen a few times a week. There is accommodation available in Ulu. From Ulu, you will have to take a day trip to hike to the lava flows.

According to the OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), this is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. It is extremely dangerous to climb it even in quiet phases of volcanic activity because there is the possibility of an explosion or large-scale rock fall with little to no warning at all.

Strombolian explosions, lava, and rock avalanches, as well as toxic sulphur dioxide gas near the crater, all make this a dangerous volcano to climb. Even the lower slopes are dangerous during bigger eruptions due to pyroclastic flows. Attempting to go even near the mountain during a phase of high activity could be fatal.

If you do decide to attempt the climb, proper navigation is essential as there is no path after the lava flows on the lower slopes.