Enjoying the Charm of Rahtawu, Gebog, Kudus

The Mount Muria area is actually close to my home in Jepara. But it’s such a shame that I’ve hardly ever traveled there. Suddenly, the desire to explore the area emerged when one of my best friends, Lailis, set a beautiful photo as her BBM profile picture. I casually asked her about the place. At first, I thought she was on the slopes of Mount Merapi, but it turned out to be only in Rahtawu Village. Perfect. It immediately became this week’s travel destination.

Rahtawu is a village located on the slopes of Mount Muria, in Gebog District, Kudus, Central Java. Rahtawu is the highest village in the Gebog sub-district. There are many historical and spiritual sites (petilasan) there.

As usual, every Thursday my classes are empty, and so are my friend’s. We’re in the same major, after all.

She was willing to take me to Rahtawu. My initial plan was to hike all the way to Peak 29 via Rahtawu, but I canceled that idea because the weather was extremely clear — meaning it was very hot. I’m also not used to hiking in the middle of the day; I usually do it at night. So I decided to just explore the Rahtawu area, which has a very vast and beautiful village territory.

At 9:30 AM, I had already arrived at the meeting point with Lailis, right in front of SMA 1 Gebog Kudus. Without waiting long, we immediately headed to our destination. At first, she was a bit worried about the vehicle I brought. She thought a matic scooter wouldn’t be able to climb the area. But I was confident — if it couldn’t make it, it would be easy enough: just get off and walk or push. No problem. Hahahaha…

The road we took was very smooth and not too crowded. The path kept climbing, which is normal since we were entering a mountainous region. In just 10 minutes, we had already entered Rahtawu Village.

The road started to get narrower and winding. On the left was a dirt cliff, while on the right was a valley planted with many kapok trees and coffee plants. At the very bottom flowed a river with large rocks. It’s clear that Mount Muria was once an active volcano that erupted and spewed lava flows in the past.

Houses were still rare in this area. The atmosphere felt so cool and refreshing. The scenery was wow… It turns out there are views like this near my home, and I only just found out about it now, at the age of almost thirty? Unbelievable… What was I doing during my teenage years? Ah, never mind…

We finally arrived at the Rahtawu Village Hall. The surrounding area was crowded with residents, and the houses here were quite densely packed and lively. Since my matic scooter was still strong, we kept going…

My eyes were spoiled left and right by extraordinary views. Several hills stood side by side. It was a bit dry because it was still the dry season. However, the river here was still flowing, with clear and clean water, no trash at all, and big rocks. It made me want to play in the water to feel even cooler. Even though the sun was directly overhead, it didn’t feel as hot as it usually does in the town center.

The higher we went, the steeper the road became. Zigzag mode activated to make the climb easier. Many residents were drying coffee beans and cloves along the road. The aroma was so fresh. When we reached Bunton, the motorbike felt like it had been beaten up — I felt sorry for it. On the side of the road, we found a plant that is popular among pregnant mothers. Guess what? Yes, it was Parijata fruit (also known as parijoto), which is high in vitamin C and antioxidants.

We had already passed Dhuhr prayer time. My friend, who loves taking photos, suggested we head back down. Okay, fair enough. It was the right decision. The trail here was playing tricks on us — it felt like it kept going up forever. Besides, this was my first time “climbing a mountain” on a motorbike, and a matic one at that. Usually, I walk for hours to the summit (if I even make it). This time it was motorbike touring, hahaha…

Whenever we saw a beautiful view, we stopped to take photos. But honestly, Rahtawu is truly beautiful. I have to come back in November. By then, this area will surely be lush green and we’ll hear the river flowing strongly.

At Kali Pethuk, there’s a food stall my friend said was really delicious. The menu included fried chicken and rica-rica bebek enthog (spicy duck). We ate in a simple gazebo overlooking the rice fields, enjoying the beautiful scenery, the natural river, ndangdut music (okay, maybe not that part), and a glass of traditional Rahtawu coffee. The coffee was different — it was incredibly tasty and aromatic…

Once full, it was time to go home…

Thank you so much to my best friend Lailis for accompanying me on this trip. She also treated me to the rica-rica bebek and bought three packs of Rahtawu coffee as souvenirs.

This traveling trip was a success!!