This video shows the eerie side of mystical Gunung Lawu during the rainy season. There is a “sacred” bathing pool with “holy water” and also some interesting ancient Hindu artefacts (which I encountered on my way down on a bright sunny morning). Our Indonesian vlogger was on the Candi Cetho route up the mountain. I took the Cemara Kandang route and descended via her route of ascent.

Gunung Lawu was the last bastion of Majapahit. Hindus fled here when Muslims in the lowlands destroyed what was left of an ailing empire in 1527. Not surprisingly, you’ll find vestiges of this once great Hindu/Buddhist empire on the slopes of this 3265m mountain straddling the line between East and West Java. Gunung Lawu is the only mountain in Indonesia that is inhabited at over 3000m elevation. Below is a video documenting my climb of Gunung Lawu in 2019. I ascended Gunung Lawu on the Cemara Kandang route and descended via the Candi Cetho route.

There is much more to explore on this mountain. I need a very knowledgeable local guide and lots of time.