How do you climb the wrong mountain (or hill)? I will tell you. We only recently discovered just where we went! If you are curious because you’d like to do the same (not climb the wrong mountain, but do the same hike) we think we went right here. After a quick search, I managed to find one person who did the same hike as us and their photo had a link to these coordinates. Turns out we hiked Menoreh Hill.

That Time We Climbed The Wrong Mountain On Java – Hike Menoreh Hill

An Itch To Climb

Kyle had really been set on the idea of climbing Mount Merapi while we were on Java near Borobudur, but unfortunately, we found it to be unrealistic due to a mix of cost, time, difficulty, and danger.

Okay, only I was worried about difficulty and danger but I read a TripAdvisor review where someone said that their legs were jello for days after the hike and Mount Merapi is an active volcano!

We had hoped that it was something we could do without a guide so we wouldn’t have to pay, but after listening to a few horror stories from our hosts about others who had given this a try, we decided it wasn’t a good idea. Still, we were really in the mood for doing some kind of hike.

Deciding On An Easier Mountain

After a little research, I decided Kendil Mountain / Kendil Rock would be a good place for us to go. The actual hike I was looking at did not seem too difficult and I even had a second hike just past it – Suroloyo Peak – planned for afterward if that one went well. Our hosts at the homestay recommended that we take a guide but we just wanted to do some independent exploring, and for us, this takes away some of the fun because we no longer have the freedom to go at our own pace, do little side explorations, etc.

Plus, obviously, guides cost money and we already spent a lot of our activity budget on Borobudur. There also didn’t seem to be any specific major risks associated with doing these hikes solo like there was with Mt Merapi so we asked for directions, hopped on a motorbike, and off we went.

Getting Lost on Backroads

Well, the first problem was that Kyle could not hear me shouting directions at him from the back of the motorbike. He took a few wrong turns and we got a little lost. We got a bit off the path. We stopped to ask a couple random people we encountered for directions but it didn’t quite work out due to language barriers.

The maps didn’t seem to completely match up with what we thought we were looking at and Kyle and I had different ideas about which direction we should go. Kyle is more stubborn than me and he was driving so I eventually conceded and allowed him to just take us wherever he seemed to feel like going. He took us on what he thought – though I wasn’t quite sure about it – was the right path. But then we came to a closed road on this path. We asked the two men guarding the road for directions but their English was extremely limited.

Well, Kyle thought we must be in the right place and that we should just hike up from there! I said something along the lines of, “Are you serious?! This is nowhere near the mountain we are supposed to be climbing! Even if we could somehow find the way, which I highly doubt we could, it would take a very long time to hike all the way to Kendil from here and there is no way we could make it to Suryolo Peak!” And he said something like, “This’ll take us there.”

Beginning the Trek

Fine. So we parked the bike near these men and began to head up straight but the men pointed us to the right. We asked them again and they seemed to be telling us this was the right direction (only I knew better). We thought about motorbiking up this road but it would have been very dangerous because it was ridiculously steep.

Forgot The Key

That actually would have been terrifying. Even walking up I felt worried about falling backward. As we began our ascension, I hesitated because Kyle would be mad at the implications of such an assumption, as he often is in when I ask something like this, but I asked anyway: “You have the key for the motorbike, right? You didn’t leave it in the bike.. right…?”

Kyle: “Of course n- oh, whoops!”

Well, Kyle went and grabbed the key which he left in the ignition and we began up this road. Slowly it became more and more interesting.

We saw butterflies fluttering all over and examined large colorful beetles. We stopped to look at interesting plants and flowers.

There were a couple pretty big spiders – you can’t tell from the photo, but this spider was as big as our hands.

There were also some mosquitos. We had some lengthy discussions about our (mostly my) concerns about dengue, Zika, and malaria on the way up. We kind of felt like we were going exploring a jungle (we kind of were?) so it seemed warranted.

As we climbed higher, we found some pretty great views looking off the side of the mountain. It was also pretty hot. I believe it was somewhere around 100 degrees so we got a little sweaty!

Hidden Mountain Villages

Through our climb, we encountered a variety of paths – including road, stone, dirt, stairs, stone steps, mud, etc. We didn’t really know where we were going. Reality: I didn’t think I knew where we were going and Kyle thought we were headed toward our original destination and I’m only mentioning this because I found it extremely frustrating during our hike that he maintained this idea.

But we were on the right path to a peak for a while. Eventually, though, as we do, we got off the trail to the place-we-ended-up-going-but-to-which-we-didn’t-know-we-were-going-and-hadn’t-intended-to-go-as-we-didn’t-really-know-about-it.

Though once there, we thought we thought we knew about it because of the name but it wasn’t the same place we were thinking of anyway. Anyway, at some point, we reached a more level area which appeared to be inhabited and wasn’t really sure where to go.

Is This The Right Trail?

We ended up going on this dirt path and were kind of just exploring. But we’re also hoping the path would lead up to a peak. We took lots of turns and forks and took pictures on our phone and camera which we hoped would be helpful if we got lost.

I also took lead navigation for a while because I feel a strength of mine is my hyperawareness of my surroundings which allows me to better watch out for looming spider webs in front of us and gaps in the land on the ground. I was pretty convinced a giant spider was going to get us.

The path got extremely narrow at times but I don’t have any photos to show it well, though, probably because those places were not the best to go around taking photos! At times, I also said things like “Kyle, I don’t think this is a well-traveled path.

I really don’t think this is even a hiking trail! I think animals made some of these paths!” Still, we were both pushing to go just a little further, taking different paths in hopes we’d eventually see that a path that was leading to a peak.

Sprinkles Coming Down

After it began to sprinkle, though, it was time to turn around as I was getting worried that we would slip on these narrow muddy paths. This entire way was devoid of people, aside from a person near a single path we found somewhere in the middle which led to someone’s home. We saw they had constructed pipes to their house that went along the mountain and found it pretty interesting.

We navigated our way back to the area from which we found this path and found a man. Either we asked him something or he just looked at us and pointed. I don’t really remember, but anyway, we then began our way up this cobbled road. We encountered a few friendly roosters and as we made our way we up, we saw a sign! A sign! It read: “Menoreh Hill.”

Up To Menoreh Hill

That was a name I knew. It turns out, the whole thing is not as straightforward as you’d think, though. The map our hosts had provided with showed something called the Menoreh Hills (plural) but it appeared far on the map and when I had looked into it online it also looked like it was an unrealistically far distance for us to go to which is why we had nixed the idea of going there.

So this couldn’t be that, right? We could see our place from the top of the hill and weren’t far at all. I had also researched other hikes in the area and come across Menoreh Hill (singular), but everyone’s photos involved going and standing/sitting on this tall platform which you could reach via ladder (like this one, though this blog states Menoreh Hills plural, also). This advertised tour for a Menoreh Hill trek also does not resemble the trail we took. We definitely did not go to Kendill Rock or Suryolo Peak either.

So Confusing

After some further research, expanding now to social media, I did find a couple other people (again, pretty sure locals) on Instagram who did get to this same place and they tagged their photos #menorehhills. (The other person I found through a quick google search- from which I got the coordinates in the intro, was from another site.) For this hashtag, I found a variety of different views, a few which displayed photos from the path we took and some which clearly did not.

My conclusion is that there are a bunch of Menoreh Hills. I mean Menoreh Hills is plural, but what then, is the Menoreh Hill or do they just call each of them Menoreh Hill? From our past hikes, we are used to different peaks and hikes being given different names even if they are a part of the same mountain range which is part of what made it confusing for us. Also, when I try typing in Menoreh Hill or Menoreh Hills on Google maps, I’m not given anything.

A Beautiful Overlook

Anyway, we continued up and came to this area which appeared to have a couple houses. This made us question if we were in the right place. We walked around and encountered a very sweet and friendly dog. It looked like it wanted to play with us.

We also saw a young boy and then we heard a family inside their house as we looked around. Soon we found another sign leading up.

We climbed up some final muddy stairs and reached the top and I have to say, I ended up being quite happy with this alternative route we took.

Amazing

The view was amazing. I think I may even have preferred to do this hike had I only known. Who knew our essentially random wanderings would lead up to this?

We took some time to just stay there and really enjoy our view. We were the only ones around and there was a little hut for us to sit in which I enjoyed until I saw a big spider weaving around the wooden pole next to me. I also noticed one sitting on the backpack. How long was it there??

We pointed out various landmarks visible beneath the light fog and enjoyed some snacks. We had a nice view of Amanjiwo Resorts throughout most of our hike. At somewhere between $600 and $1600/night, the hotel was out of our price range (lol!) but it does look pretty impressive.

It offers a number of suites, including one which offers you your own private pool and garden! There are some other nice hotels there, too, though, including one inside the Borobudur area – Manohara – where we had meals a couple times.

We rested our legs while watching as the dark clouds rolled closer.

Leaving Before The Storm

I said to Kyle, “We need to get going or we are going to be slipping and sliding down those stairs until we are both a muddy mess!” He agreed and we took just a couple more minutes to enjoy our view before heading down.

It began sprinkling just as we finished our way down the muddy stairs and it rained on and off on our way back. It did make us more cautious on the way down as a whole, though but it was also quite lovely!

Kyle also picked up a couple more snacks for himself on the way back. (I did not partake.)

We saw very few people through the entire hike and didn’t see any other hikers. Aside from the man who pointed us in the right direction and the boy with the dog, we saw some people working on a building to the right of the trail at the very beginning of our journey and then a woman hauling up groceries. On our way down we saw a woman and her child.

Once we made our way back to the motorbike we hopped back on, headed back, and then we each took a shower! Later we realized we were able to see the peak and platform from our place. While it started out a bit rocky, this turned out to be one of our favorite hikes we’ve done!

Prepare to Hike Menoreh Hill!

Hiking the jungles of Indonesia is fun, but there is plenty that could go wrong. If you aren’t prepared, you could find yourself not having such a good time. So we’ve prepared our list to help you prepare for your hike so that you can stay safe and enjoy yourself. If you want a guide to help get you to Menoreh hill, you can book one here.

*Married with Maps is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

• Travel Pack – Carrying the right pack can make a huge difference when out and about. Our ultimate guide to choosing a travel pack will help ensure you get off on the right foot.
• Water Bottles – Collapsible Water Bottles – These are some of our favorite items to bring with us. They’re really light-weight and you can also roll them up so you can store them away easily. If there is one item that is most important to bring with you, it is water.
• Hiking Clothes – It can be really tempting to just throw on your regular day clothes and march out into the jungle but more and more, we’re finding that putting some thought into what you wear on the trail can really improve your experience. This trail takes you through very steamy jungle, bugs are buzzing, and the sun is hot. A recent addition to my wardrobe has made a big difference so that I can be protected and comfortable. For him | For her
• Raingear – This is a tropical rainforest after all, and storms in Indonesia don’t mess around. Keeping dry can mean the difference between happy and miserable. I really like this jacket because it’s light enough to wear without getting hot, but if it’s cool out – it will also keep you from getting chilled. As a plus, it can be folded into itself making it very easy to carry around or pack. For him | For her
• Headlamps – Getting caught in the jungle at dark can be frightening, or downright deadly depending on the location. We’ve gotten caught in the dark on trails that went longer than expected, and we’ve intentionally entered caves – in all cases, headlamps are essential so that you can see where you’re going and keep your hands free. This trail is steep, narrow, and deadly in the dark – so we recommend these just in case. Foxelli Headlamp Flashlight
• Trekking Poles – The trails here are pretty steep – and muddy – and a helping hand or in this case pole can really make a difference. These are great because they can support a lot of weight, and when not in use they can collapse down for easier carrying. Trekking Poles
• First-aid Kit – You really need to be prepared for anything when hiking, which means you need to be prepared for injury. We don’t often get hurt, but we have. You never know what could happen so you should always carry a basic first aid kit to be able to patch up whatever may happen. First-Aid Kit
• Bug Repellant – As one might imagine, the jungles of Indonesia just might be full of mosquitos and other nasties that bite. No one wants to come down with malaria, dengue, or any of the other awful diseases these bugs bring. Unfortunately, there is no way to deal with these really other than to be proactive. Off! Deep Woods Towelettes

That Time We Hiked The Wrong Mountain On Java – Hike Menoreh Hill