By Rail: Jomblang Cave and Merapi Jeep Lava Tour from Jakarta. Cleanse yourself in the Heavenly Light in Jomblang then adventure on the Great of Mount Merapi

Highlights

By Rail: Jomblang Cave and Merapi Jeep Lava Tour from Jakarta

• Executive Train ticket from Jakarta - Yogyakarta - Jakarta
• Experience an awesome cave adventure in Jomblang Cave
• Descend 60 meters into the Jomblang Cave & witness the mesmerizing ‘Light of Heaven’
• Discover both unique caves with the professional caving guides
• Merapi Jeep Lava Tour with 4 WD Jeep on the cold dry lava and ashes at Slope of Mt. Merapi

Train schedules :

• Jakarta / Gambir to Yogyakarta by Taksaka 21.20pm-03.30am
• Yogyakarta to Jakarta / Gambir by Gajayana 20.24pm - 03.05am

Itinerary

Description

By Rail: Jomblang Cave and Merapi Jeep Lava Tour from Jakarta

Jomblang Cave is a vertical cave with ancient forest below. The feature of 50m wide diametrically with vertical sides varies between 60-80 meters. Some trees at the bottom grow exuberantly like an underground forest as they are getting sufficient sunlight. Natural green living welcomes you from all side of the entrance of the mouth of cave horizontally while you are released down into the bottom of the cave accompanied by the caving guide. You will find the light of heaven at the end of the hall after 300m walking thru rock ornaments.

Mt. Merapi, located about 17 miles north of Yogyakarta. The most active volcano in Indonesia with regular eruptions since 1548, Merapi emits smoke that can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 300 days a year. Enjoy a spectacular panoramic view as dawn breaks by 4WD jeep.

Jomblang Cave Important Facts

• Before jumping into the experience, these the list out a few very important facts to take into consideration when planning your trip:
•  There is only one group departure per day at 9:30AM. Do not just expect to get there at anytime and be able to take part. You must get there before 9:30AM.
• With that said, there is a limit of 80 people who can take part of the experience on a first come first serve basis. Due to this limit I would recommend getting there well before 9:30AM to ensure your spot. I arrived there around 8:30AM but during the peak summer season, you may be better off getting in even before then.
• Do not leave Yogyakarta past 6:30AM – 7:00AM in order to get there in time. In peak summer season, you may need to leave even earlier. Advise with your driver ahead of time.
• If taking part of this tour, they may have spots secured already for the group, so you should not need to worry as much about running out of spots.
• The whole experience will last about 3 hours (9:30AM – 12:30AM). Once you are back up at the entrance you will have a nice lunch waiting for you.
• The cost of the experience is not cheap. One ticket is 500,000 IDR ($35 USD), making it one of the more expensive activities to take part of in Indonesia. Do note that this includes lunch and insurance. If taking part of this tour, this will be most likely already be included.
• You will get muddy so do not wear your best clothes on this tour! They will supply you with big rain boots so do not worry too much about what shoes you bring along.

What to Bring Along

Since this is quite the unique experience it may be helpful to bring a few essentials with you down into the cave:

• Dry Bag – since the mud can get quite messy, it super helpful to put your valuables inside a dry bag instead of in your pockets. 
• Headlamp – this is not a necessity but can be helpful to have. The guides are the only ones with headlamps on so if you would like to bring your own, that can definitely help when walking through the dark mud. 
• Clothes that can be thrown away if necessary, it can get muddy in there. Do not bring your best clothes into the cave, rather just a cheap shirt/shorts that you don’t mind getting a bit dirty.
• Travel Towel – at the end of the experience, you will be able to wash up. Having a quick dry towel is perfect here to clean up and change into a new pair of clothes.
• Extra Pair of Clothes – if you don’t want to be sitting in your dirty shorts and shirt, we recommend bringing a change of clothes to put on at the end of the experience

Jomblang Cave Experience

Now that you know all the important details to better prepare you for your trip to Jomblang Cave, lets get a bit more into the experience itself. After making the 90 minute drive from Yogyakarta, and getting through that last stretch of bumpy road, you will arrive at the Jomblang parking lot.

1. Check In

• Right when you arrive, make the short walk to the open aired hut, where you will sign up with the person at the desk (our driver will help).
• Right near the check in, you will have restrooms, coffee, and tea available. Depending on when you arrive, you may have some time to kill before actually starting the tour.
• After checking in, head on over to the boot station, where there will be a variety of boots and different sizes to choose from. Dig around for a pair that works best for you and just hang out until the experience begins. You will also be given a helmet for safety reasons.

2. The Rappel Down

• Once 9:30AM rolls around, you will head right nearby the rappelling station and sit in the order of your group numbers. There will be 2 people harnessed together and rappelled down at a time.
• It will take about 1-2 minutes to get down to the bottom of the sinkhole, where they will remove the harness and you will then wait down there until the rest of the group makes it down safely.
• Up top they will be taking pictures of your descent, that you may purchase later on in the day.

3. The Muddy Trek

• After everyone is down at the bottom of the rappel, it is time to begin the 20-30 trek down into the cave and towards the end of it. Watch your step at the beginning as you make the descent down the muddy stairs.
• Behind you will be an incredible view of the massive cave opening so be sure to snap some pics!
• Once down the steps there will be somewhat of a path to get you towards the end. While there are some wooden planks to help with your footing, the path can get very muddy, and you may not be able to see them at some points.
• There were plenty of people getting stuck knee deep at some points but it really all was in good fun. Thankfully the trek through the cave is not too long but can take a little while since everyone is walking pretty slowly.

4. The Light

• Soon enough you will arrive at the endpoint of the cave, where there will be a massive hole above you. While there will be some light shining on down when you arrive, you may have to wait 20-30 minutes until the sun is in the perfect position above you for those beams of light to come through.
• When the beams of light do come through, it creates this incredible effect inside the cave that is sure to give you some picture-perfect photo ops.
• Initially when we all arrived at the endpoint, the guides mentioned that we could wait in line for a particular photo op spot towards the upper right hand side of the cave. 
• Do be careful though as you are making your way around since there really is no set path and it can get very slippery in there.

5. The Trek & Rappel Back

• Once all done taking pictures and enjoying the beams of light, it is time to do the same trek back to the rappelling station. Once back at the rappel station, you will be partnered back up (first come first serve) and be pulled all the way back up to the surface.
• Now, as you get up to the top you will be able to see what type of pulley system is going on here. Unlike before where they were just slowly sending you down with a couple guys, you will see about 20 men pulling altogether a long rope to bring everyone back up.
• It was one of the most fascinating things to watch as all these people worked in unison to safely bring everyone back to the surface.
• Once back up and to safety, you can wash yourself off at the cleaning stations and will then be given a nice lunch to enjoy. Depending on when you got pulled back up, you should be back up top around 12:30PM – 1:00PM.

Train schedules :

• Jakarta / Gambir to Yogyakarta by Taksaka 21.20pm-03.30am
• Yogyakarta to Jakarta / Gambir by Gajayana 20.24pm - 03.05am