Through Forest and Edelweiss, Ciremai Sadarehe

This time, I want to share my experience hiking Mount Ciremai.

This was our second attempt at Ciremai. The first one was in 2023. At that time, we could not reach the summit because a storm was approaching, so we only made it to the camp area at Pos 5. I actually wrote about that journey on this blog before, so you can check it out there. For this trip, we chose a different route, the Sadarehe route. We picked this route because it is known for its green savannah and the edelweiss fields you can see along the trek from the camping area to the summit.

It took us about seven hours to get there from Jakarta. We arrived around 6 a.m. and took a short nap before repacking and doing the registration. The basecamp was quite cozy because we stayed at one of the local houses. The only problem was the limited number of bathrooms, so we had to manage our time well because the queue was quite long. At the registration post, there were doctors checking our blood pressure and asking several questions about our condition. This was my first time experiencing something like this. On other mountains, we usually just start hiking without this kind of health check. Honestly, I think this is actually a good thing.

We started our hike, and this was the second time I brought my camera with me. The first time was on Mount Slamet, but the weather there was too gloomy and foggy, so I could not take many proper scenery photos. This time, I kept my camera on my waist and took some photos along the trail. The trek on Ciremai reminded me of Mount Gede, which makes sense since both are in West Java, so the vegetation feels quite similar. The difference is that Ciremai feels denser and more packed. Compared to the Apuy route, I found this route easier.

There are no water sources along the trail, so make sure to bring enough water. I would suggest at least four liters. From Pos 1 to Pos 3, the trail is still quite gentle. The forest is already dense, and the air feels damp but cool. The most exhausting section for me was from Pos 4 to Pos 5. The trail starts to get steeper, and you can really feel your heart rate rising as you go uphill. From Pos 5 to Pos 6, the trail becomes a bit gentler compared to the previous section, and this is where we built our camp. We arrived at the campsite around 4 p.m., after about six hours from the basecamp.

The campsite is quite spacious, but you cannot see the sunset or sunrise from there. It reminded me of the campsite on Slamet via Bambangan, surrounded by tall trees and located deep in the forest. There is not much open space for wide scenery, but the forest itself is already beautiful. I found a lot of ferns and some ancient-looking plants around the area. I did not take many star photos because the sky was covered by the tall trees. We woke up around 2 a.m. and started our summit push at 3 a.m. The summit trek was the most challenging part and honestly one of the most exhausting summit pushes I have ever done.

The route to the summit starts after Pos 8, after Kawah Burung. Technically, there are only two more posts left, but it feels much longer than that. It was really exhausting. But starting from Pos 7, the vegetation begins to open up, and this is where you start seeing a lot of edelweiss. It was truly beautiful. The flowers were in bloom, and compared to Apuy and even other mountains I have visited, the edelweiss in Sadarehe felt much more abundant. They were everywhere along the trail.

From Pos 7 to Pos 8, you walk on a narrow path surrounded by edelweiss on both sides. Then comes the final push from Pos 8 to the summit. This section takes about 150 minutes. The trail is completely open, and although you can still see edelweiss around, the challenge here is the loose sandy and rocky terrain. This was one of the most beautiful sections for taking photos because you could see the camp area from above. We reached the summit around 6:30 a.m. The summit area itself is quite small, and there is no big monument for photos like on Merbabu or Lawu, so you mostly take pictures with the sign that is available there.

From the summit, you can also see the peak area from the Apuy route. Compared to Sadarehe, the Apuy side looked much more crowded. I think that makes sense because the Sadarehe route only opened in 2022, and not as many people have hiked it compared to Apuy. After taking some photos, we headed back down to our campsite to pack our things. On the way down, I took a lot of pictures. It took us around three hours to get back to camp. After packing, we continued down to the basecamp. We started descending again at 10 a.m. and arrived at the basecamp around 1 p.m. After repacking once more, we left for Jakarta at 4 p.m.

Overall, Ciremai via Sadarehe truly has a special place in my heart, especially because of the edelweiss. They were unbelievably beautiful, unlike anything I had seen on other mountains before. Even though the hike was very exhausting, and even more tiring for me than Sindoro and Sumbing, the view made everything worth it.

Some mountains stay with you not because they are easy, but because they make you feel something you do not find anywhere else. For me, Ciremai via Sadarehe is one of them.

Soft Blooms above clouds.

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