As we know, climbing a mountain is quite a strenuous activity to do. A beginner like me should really prepare myself before climbing. I do physical preparation with exercise starting from a week before climbing. To be honest, at that time I rarely exercised so I was a bit worried about my endurance. But that didn't stop me from climbing.
Papandayan is a mountain located in the province of West Java, precisely in the city of Garut. Mount Papandayan is often used as the main destination for beginner climbers like me. Aside from being located not too far from the capital, the altitude is also still relatively gentle when compared to other mountains in Indonesia. Although included in the sloping category, Mount Papandayan has a height of 2,665 meters above sea level.
My motivation to climb Mount Papandayan stemmed from a desire to connect with nature and challenge myself physically. As a first-time hiker, I was looking for an adventure that would not only test my limits, but also provide a sense of accomplishment and breathtaking views. The appeal of standing at the top of a mountain and feeling the serenity of the highlands was irresistible.
I have long wanted to go to Papandayan and I finally made it the first mountain I climbed.Since Mount Papandayan is located outside the city, my friends and I rented a car to go there. We left at night and arrived at the parking area of Mount Papandayan at dawn. After that we got ready and then at eight o'clock in the morning we started climbing.
The appearance of the entrance gate to Mount Papandayan, which means the starting point for the climb.
Some of the photos above show the view when you just started climbing.
I didn't expect the view to be so beautiful, even when we just started climbing. The right and left of the road were filled with shady trees. It is true that seeing beautiful natural scenery can make us happy and reduce fatigue. Honestly, after only a short climb I already felt tired, but because the view was so beautiful, the fatigue was not too heavy.
The higher you climb, the more difficult the terrain becomes. The road is rocky and rather barren. However, even though the road is rather barren, we can still see beautiful scenery. I really fell in love with the scenery on Mount Papandayan. Even though the climb has not reached half, there are already so many things that made me fall in love because of the scenery. This makes me very grateful because I can see one of the beauties that the universe has. I feel a deeper connection with nature and it makes me feel at peace. I took every opportunity to capture the stunning scenery.
There were times when I questioned whether I could continue, especially on the steeper sections. However, achieving small milestones-like overcoming a particularly difficult climb-made me feel victorious. Every achievement, no matter how small, strengthened my resolve to reach the top. With every step, my muscles ached, and I felt the heat in my lungs. However, a wave of excitement coursed through me, pushing me to keep going. I felt both exhausted and excited, a mix of pain and excitement that only a hiker can understand. The higher I climbed, the faster my heart beat and make me feel happy.
Still not to the top, but to one of the stops on Mount Papandayan, the sulfur crater that emits beautifully shaped smoke. It was so beautiful that I didn't want to miss taking photos to capture the moment. After resting for a while and taking a few shots, we continued our journey to the next destination, the dead forest.
The dead forest is a favorite spot for visitors. Why is it called the dead forest? Because the trees here are all dead. This place is a vast expanse of white snow-like color filled with leafless and dried up trees.
The next destination is the saladah hut. This is the campground area. But before going to the camping area, there is another famous spot at Pondok Saladah, which is the edelweiss flower garden. I, who was very enthusiastic because I really wanted to see edelweiss flowers, had to be disappointed because edelweiss plants were not in flowering season. A little disappointed but it's okay because edelweiss flowers don't always flower all the time.
The campsite is not too far from the edelweiss garden. This place is not like on a mountain because in the camping area there are many stalls and there are also toilets. Not long after arriving at the camping site, it suddenly rained. We took shelter in a stall while ordering food. It was so peaceful to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the camping area while eating hot noodles. After it stopped raining a bit, we immediately went down the mountain because we were afraid it would get dark. To get down the mountain we did not take the route when climbing but through the forest. Passing through a slippery path, we had to be extra careful. The smell of rainwater on the ground and the cool breeze was something only experienced during a hike. This was my first experience and it was very memorable. Hopefully one day I can climb Mount Papandayan again.
Thank you for reading my post about my first experience climbing Mount Papandayan.
Devy Swan
Devy Swan is a girl with a lot of dreams and imagination.She likes cooking, singing and traveling. Recently, in the last two years to be exact, she started learning to write. Although her writing is still not very good, but she has a hope that one day she will have her own book.
