Journey from Jepara to the Summit of Mount Prau

For a month, I had been planning an August 17th trip to one of the mountain peaks in Central Java, of course with my husband. We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to reach the summit of Mount Prau.

Mount Prau is a mountain located in the Dieng Plateau, Wonosobo, at an altitude of 2,565 meters above sea level. I started browsing information about the hiking trails and the area there because this was my first time going.

Day One

We left the house at 9 AM. At 9:30 AM, we waited for the Jepara-Semarang bus in front of Purwogondo Mosque in Kalinyamatan. The wait was quite long, but at least I managed to get a seat and sleep on the bus. From Kalinyamatan to Terboyo Terminal in Semarang, we were charged Rp25,000 for two people.

At 11:30 AM, we arrived at Terboyo Terminal, but we missed the bus to Wonosobo by 10 minutes. Oh no… we had to wait about an hour for the next bus. We deliberately skipped lunch so we wouldn’t miss another bus.

The bus we took was really bad, but what could we do? The important thing was to arrive in Wonosobo safely. The ticket to Wonosobo Terminal cost Rp30,000 per person.

We arrived at Wonosobo Terminal exactly at 5 PM. It was very chilly. As soon as we got off the bus, we were greeted by a microbus driver heading to Dieng. They saw our carrier bags and immediately knew our destination was to climb the mountain. Before departing, we first went to the toilet and musholla (prayer room) to catch up on our missed prayers by combining them. The microbus eventually filled up with hikers from Jakarta and Bandung. The fare for this microbus was Rp20,000 per person, whether getting off at Patak Banteng or continuing to Dieng—it was the same price.

The microbus route we took had incredibly steep inclines. The road got steeper and steeper. But the view down below was incredibly beautiful… the lights already looked like stars.

At 6:30 PM, we arrived at Patak Banteng. Some people whose destination was the summit of Mount Prau got off here, while others continued to Dieng. The main priority was to enter a local resident’s house near the post to eat, drink, and use the toilet. The locals there were very friendly. They were happy with the arrival of the hikers. For the people of Patak Banteng, this is their livelihood.

Being able to stretch out for a moment in the musholla felt amazing after hours of sitting with cramped legs on the bus. While checking my phone, I had planned to update my status on social media to show off the location, but unfortunately, there was no Smartfren signal here. With a pretend-friendly attitude, I started a conversation with the woman who had just finished praying next to me.

Me: “Where is your group from, Kak?”  

Her: “Jakarta. I’m actually about to head back.”  

Me: “Oh, you’ve been here since yesterday? How long did it take to reach the summit yesterday?”  

Her: “Five hours. We walked leisurely because we’re not used to hiking yet.”  

Me: “Ooo… the important thing is you made it safely, Kak.”

When I heard the words “five hours,” I started to feel a bit panicked. How could I not panic? The number of people climbing had already reached a thousand, while I was still here. And where were we supposed to set up our tent later?

At 7:30 PM, Achmad and I started hiking. We prayed first, and most importantly, we reported to the climbing post for registration.

The trail we passed was still very easy. The path was up to 3 meters wide with neatly arranged rocks, so it could still be passed by two-wheeled vehicles.

At the end of the road, we found Post 1, where officers checked hikers’ tickets. Those without tickets would be fined one tree seedling per person, valued at Rp10,000.

After passing Post 1, the path turned into a narrow dirt trail with soft soil like baby powder—if the wind blew, we’d have to cover our noses and squint our eyes. On the left and right of this trail were still the gardens of local residents, with plants such as chili, potatoes, and paprika (I think so, because it was dark and hard to see clearly what the plants were).

The path was already starting to get congested, with queues forming. Of course it was jammed—people kept stopping in the middle of the trail while the path was so narrow it could only fit one person at a time.

Finally, we reached Post 2. The trail had entered a forest area with relatively small trees. The path was still fairly easy. On this stretch, my husband and I didn’t stop much—we wanted to keep walking so we could reach the top faster. The slower we walked, the more dust we inhaled.

Upon arriving at Post 3, the trail became extremely steep. We sometimes had to bend our bodies forward to maintain balance so we wouldn’t slip backward. The view below was breathtaking… the colorful lights scattered everywhere. Sorry, I didn’t take any photos because I just wasn’t in the mood.

Yeeesss… Bukit Teletubbies! That meant the summit was right in front of us. What a relief. And wow… hundreds of tents were already set up there. It was so crowded! Added to that was the strong wind and freezing cold air, like being inside a refrigerator. I started feeling really cold. I looked for a comfortable spot to set up our tent. Found one! 

It turned out the hike wasn’t as far as I had imagined. We reached the summit in 1 hour 50 minutes because we started from Patak Banteng, which is already at around 1,700 meters above sea level.

At first, I wanted to take photos of the “thousand-star hotel” with all its colorful lights, but I changed my mind because of the strong wind and the freezing temperature (who knows how many degrees below zero it was that night).

Day Two

At 4:30 AM, I woke up because it was so noisy outside. I woke my husband up for the Subuh (dawn) prayer.

At 5:15 AM, we left the tent and there was already a bit of light. I looked toward the peak of Prau and… oh my god, it was already packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder, cameras in hand. Of course, I didn’t want to miss this moment either.

The sunrise from the summit of Mount Prau was truly amazing. People say it’s the most beautiful sunrise in Southeast Asia.

At 7:00 AM, we returned to the tent to cook because we were starving. Breakfast was instant noodles, canned sardines, and savory lontong that I bought at Wonosobo Terminal the previous evening. Hmmm… it was so delicious and filling. After eating, we started packing up because we couldn’t stand the dust anymore. No need for face powder — the dust had already powdered us enough… hehe.

At exactly 8:00 AM, we began our descent. Of course, we brought all our trash down with us, guys.

On the way down, I was once again mesmerized by the incredible view. Telaga Warna (Color Lake). From up there, its blue color was clearly visible, even bluer than the morning sky. So beautiful…

We walked slowly because of the heavy traffic and queues — everyone taking turns. Many people were also starting their climb early in the morning.

At 10:00 AM, we arrived at a local resident’s house. We went straight in and took a bath. The locals were very friendly — the mother of the house made us two glasses of rock sugar tea that tasted so nostalgic, according to my husband. I also asked her to pick 10 kg of Carica fruit for us to take home. Wow… she was really happy. She said she would be waiting for our return. She prayed that we would easily find sustenance and bring some of that sustenance back to her house again someday.

At 11:00 AM, the microbus to the terminal finally departed after we waited for an hour. Traffic jams were normal, of course. But the surrounding scenery was extraordinary. Indeed, beautiful things require physical and mental effort like this. And of course, supported by some money too…

We arrived home at 6:30 PM with millions of memories from the Dieng highlands, Mount Prau, and you…

Wait for our next adventure!!!