Where
to Go
Gunung Leuser National Park
Bukit Lawang
Tangkahan
Lake Toba
Berastagi
Mt. Sibayak
volcano
Mt. Sinabung
volcano
Sipisopiso
Waterfall
Tongging
Ketembe
Lake Kawar
Medan
What
to Do
Jungle
Trekking
Elephant
Trekking
White-Water
Rafting
River-Tubing
Volcano
Climbing
Bohorok
Orangutan Centre
Maimoon Palace
What
to Know
About "Hello
Mister Travel"
Introduction
to Sumatra
Topography
History
Getting to Sumatra
Getting Around Sumatra
Terms & Conditions
Accommodation
Bukit Lawang
Tangkahan
Berastagi
Tongging
Tuk Tuk
Ketembe
The Tours
Bukit Lawang Short Stay
The Jungle Trail
The Toba Trail
The North Sumatran Trail
Sibayak Volcano
Sibayak last erupted back in 1881 but it is still visibly active as you can tell from the steaming fumaroles, the pungently sulphurous steaming vents that hiss from their fluorescent yellow holes at the top.
At 2100m it is the easiest and closest volcano to Medan and can be climbed without a guide as long as you’re in fairly good shape and the weather is fine, which means leaving fairly early in the morning from Berastagi. However, the locals will strongly suggest that somebody should accompany you as there have been a few disappearances over the years. Personally, I think that if you have any experience of climbing and walking then you’ll not have a problem.
There is a tarmac path for the first two-thirds of the climb and it is difficult to lose your way. However once you reach the old abandoned baths it becomes a little trickier to pick your route and the path becomes rocky and less obvious. There is a 900m wide crater at the top which you are likely to have to yourself and there are excellent views of the area, including the Hot Sulphur Springs which you can take an alternative route back down to.
It’s recommended that you take some form of protection from the sun, the wind and the rain as well as provisions. Expect to take the best part of a day to complete the walk unless you are feeling lazy and require transport up to the abandoned baths, in which case the entire trip can be finished within a couple of hours.
To arrange for a guide to take you up Mt. Sibayak, please click here...
