Lokon volcano
Hiking up an active volcano
Have you ever thought about hiking up a volcano and standing on the edge of a crater? Is this an adventure from your wildest dreams? We can make that dream come true. Join us in hiking up mount Lokon, a very active volcano in North Sulawesi.
You’ll leave the resort early in the morning. The earlier the better as temperatures are more comfortable for hiking early in the morning. The drive takes about 1 hour to get to Tomohon and to the starting point of the hike. The trail to Lokon volcano starts behind a rock quarry just outside of the city. The first 20 minutes takes you through forest & farmland going up quite steep. But soon you’ll enter the old lava stream which you will follow all the way to the crater.
Walking through the lava stream is not very strenuous. The elevation slowly rises and the first part feels like walking through an old riverbed with some steeper parts in between. Later it turns into a steeper, solid rock underground. After this you end up on a moon like landscape, full of scattered rocks that once have been expelled by the volcano during one of its eruption.
After approximately 1,5 hours you reach the continuously smoking crater rim. The crater is situated halfway up the mountain and most people only hike until here. You can explore the area and walk partly around the crater to get amazing views across Bunaken National Park.
The real summit of Lokon volcano can be reached by continuing hiking a steep path going further up. This needs some extra planning and time to do. Going up is fairly easy but coming down can be hard because of all the loose rubble & rocks. We recommend only to walk until the 1st crater.
After spending some time around the crater we will start our descend and follow the same path back as we came up. Going down usually goes much faster and is a lot of fun. But be careful for slippery parts when the bottom is wet.
We return to the resort for lunch.
Make sure to check out our other excursions to Tangkoko National Park or explore the Minahasan Highlands.
