Lake Gunung Tujuh

Danau Gunung Tujuh sits at about nineteen hundred and fifty metres inside the Kerinci Seblat park and is generally described as the highest crater lake in Southeast Asia - a body of water some three kilometres by four and a half in an old caldera, with seven peaks standing round the rim, which is what the name records. Getting there is a climb of about three hours from the park post at Pelompek through montane forest, steep and muddy, and there is no road. The water is cold and clear, the shore is forest to the edge, and camping by it is the usual arrangement since the walk out is long. Siamang, gibbons and hornbills are heard on the way up. The lake drains over a lip into a waterfall on the far side.

What you actually see

• The highest crater lake in the region - at around 1,950 metres.
• Seven peaks round the rim - the ring the lake is named for.
• A three-hour climb in - no road, montane forest, steep and muddy.
• Forest to the waterline - undisturbed shore with gibbons and hornbills heard.

When to go

May to September; a dry window for the climb. A day, or overnight camping.

Honest expectations

The walk is genuinely hard and slippery, three hours each way. It is cold at the lake - camping needs proper gear. Leeches are constant. A guide from the village is sensible.

Nearby

Mount Kerinci is close; Kersik Tuo and the tea estate are below.