Mount Ciremai

Ciremai reaches 3,078 metres and is the highest mountain in West Java, standing alone above the coastal plain near Cirebon rather than in a range, which makes it visible from a long way and gives the summit an unusually open view - the Java Sea on one side and the volcanoes of central Java on the other. The crater at the top is large and deep, around four hundred metres across. Three main routes go up, of which Linggarjati is the longest and hardest with a continuous climb of some two and a half thousand metres and no reliable water, and Palutungan and Apuy are shorter. It is a national park. Linggarjati village below has a separate historical importance: the 1946 Linggadjati Agreement between the Republic and the Netherlands was negotiated in a house there, now a museum.

What you actually see

• West Java's highest point - 3,078 metres standing alone above the plain.
• A large summit crater - around four hundred metres across.
• An open two-sided view - the Java Sea and the central Java volcanoes.
• The Linggadjati house - where the 1946 agreement was negotiated, below the mountain.

When to go

May to September; overnight for sunrise. Two days.

Honest expectations

The Linggarjati route is a brutal continuous climb with no water source - carry everything. Permits and registration are compulsory. The mountain closes seasonally and on fire risk. Nights are cold.

Nearby

Kuningan and Cirebon are on the plain; the Linggadjati museum is at the trailhead.