Twin Peaks

The Kledung Pass is a picturesque road that cuts between two volcanoes.

Twin Peaks
The Kledung Pass is a picturesque road that cuts between two volcanoes.

An early morning mist carpets the main road through Kledung Pass, in Central Java, but on the mountain sides, tobacco plantation staff are already hard at work. The road passes between two volcanoes, Gunung Sumbing and Gunung Sindoro, and I had checked into the Kledung Pass Hotel late one afternoon with the intention of climbing one of them.

Gunung is the Indonesian word for mountain, climbing volcanoes is known as gunung bagging, and the country has an enthusiastic community of gunung baggers. Ideally, one should commence the hike in the afternoon and spend the night at the top in order to see the sunrise the next morning. But it gets cold up there, and I had no suitable gear for keeping warm and dry. So I set off up the slopes of Gunung Sindoro (main Pic) before first light, wondering if I could get to the top before the clouds rolled in.

I couldn’t, but I still enjoyed the hike. Base camp office was, unsurprisingly, closed when I passed, so acquiring the permit would just have to wait till I returned. It is only a matter of paying a small fee so I didn’t feel too guilty. The climb isn’t difficult and the path is easy to follow, but it did start getting misty by mid-morning, so by the time I neared the top, visibility was down to just a few metres.

View of Gunung Sumbing fro the slopes of Gunung Sindoro (above). Mobile warung and a few shops.

There are toxic gases near the crater. Overnighters are warned to camp some way below the summit and only go to the top for the sunrise. I couldn’t smell anything, but I steered clear anyway and didn’t hang around for long. During the climb, I’d had the volcano to myself, but it was the start of a public holiday, and on the descent, I high-fived several teams of baggers on their way up.

Dining options are few in Kledung, but I did find a little shop where I bought some biscuits and instant coffee, and a nearby warung where I secured a steaming bowl of noodles. I sat by the roadside watching the afternoon mists descend.

Another day

I stayed one more day to explore the villages and the paths that thread their way through the tobacco plantations. Green gold, the farmers call it, as the local economy depends on it. The vast majority of the people in the area are involved in its production and processing. The fields, most of which are family-owned, stretch a considerable distance up the sides of the two volcanoes. Even though Sindoro’s last eruption was in November 1971, and Sumbing’s only known eruption was way back in 1730, the rich volcanic soils remain very fertile.

Plantation workers and a day off school

In the early mornings, the fields are a hive of industry, people in the fields tending the crop while others are harvesting the mature leaves. These are taken to be graded and shredded before being laid out on bamboo trays to dry in the sun. When dry, they are collected and taken away to be rolled into the clove-flavoured cigarettes that are popular all over Indonesia. Some farmers are experimenting with growing other crops, such as vegetables and coffee, to hedge against price fluctuations in the tobacco market, but the plots are still very small.

Being a public holiday, the children are off school and only too happy to chaperone me around their village. “Foto, foto,” they murmur, hoping I will notice and point the camera their way. Adults do too, though usually a little more coy. Back in the film era, I was a lot more conservative; replacement film was not always readily available. In the digital world, I’m happy to blast away. It doesn’t necessarily make for great photography, but it is a great way to connect and share a few laughs.

Batursari Village and a view of the plantations. Gunung Sumbing (below)

Later in the afternoon, I passed the Gunung Sumbing base camp office, where a group of climbers had been lined up posing for photos outside, but were now waving frantically at me. It was a group I’d met the day before as they ascended Sindoro. They had completed that climb and were determined to bag Sumbing before the long weekend was over, and would I mind operating their camera so they could all be in the picture at the same time.

The Kledung Pass hotel doesn’t have its own website but it is well represented on all the major booking sites. Their Instagram handle is @diengkledungpass. If you don’t have your own transport you’ll need to use the local buses.

Related: Sunrise over Gunung Bromo and the Tengger Highlands