Visit Tambora, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

5eaterofjams 5:00 PM Oct 7, 2016

Tambour trek, 2016
If you're reading this, you're either doing the trek and looking for pointers, or still trying to make up your mind whether to go ahead. I hope this review is useful either ways. Arranging the trek was quite easy over emails, Rik made sure that a person was waiting for me at the Bima airport, and everything thereafter. From the airport it is about a 5 hour drive to the village Pancasila, the road is newly laid and it was a very comfortable, and at times a beautiful drive. I arrived around 6pm to a comfortable, basic room. The trek started at 6am sharp the following morning. The trail is divided into posts, and here's how long it takes (or took me, rather): Village to post 1: 1 hour. Easy Post 1 to 2: 1.5 hours. Harder Post 2 to 3: 1.5 hours. Harder still Post 3 to 4: 45 minutes. Steep, but short. Post 4 to 5: 30 minutes. Again, steep but short. Camp overnight. Post 5 to summit (next morning): 2 hours of very steep hiking. This does not include breaks, which I think differs depending on your stamina, but roughly works out to about 10 minutes for every hour of walking. The trail is steep at times but you have all the time in the world so there is no need to rush it. My guides, Mohsin and Teguh were really good and we always kept a good pace: not too fast and not too slow. The view that greets you once you reach the summit is better seen than described so I won't bother. What amazes me is how few people have heard of Tambora, given its historical significance. Anyways, suffice to say it was a trek of a life time and I am glad I did it. Thank you Mohsin, Teguh, Rik. Lastly, not so obvious things you absolutely need to bring :) 3-4 pairs of socks. It WILL rain eventually and dry socks feel so good! Slippers. During those breaks it would've been nice to remove shoes and walk in slippers, if only for a few minutes. Air pillow. Your whole body will hurt, but your neck doesn't have to. Books/kindle. You will have a few hours before hitting bed at campsite. Download the English-Bahasa translator on google translation app. My guides were a lot of fun but sometimes crisp communication is a necessity ("How much time to next post?") Insect repellant or loose tobacco. Yup, tobacco. Leeches are omnipresent and I can vouch for the fact that rubbing wet tobacco over your feet and legs works a charm. A plastic bag you can put your trash in. Tambora is no Rinjani and I hope through our (small) efforts it stays that way.

5babamar 5:00 PM Oct 14, 2019

a must-do for trekkers
Climbing a volcano is always exciting, but climbing Tambora is more than that due too the history of this volcano. One-day trekking and being at the top for sunrise is just amazing and the view on the caldeira is astonishing.