There are quite a number of volcanic mountain in East-Java including the famous ones such as Bromo and Semeru but actually, there are many older volcanic mountain in the region that is dormant and worth exploring, such as Mount Wilis. Unlike the popular hike in the region, Mt. Wilis is not commercialized due to its access that are still challenging and raw. If you enjoy quiter hike and untounched trails, this is one of the place to be.
Last Saturday, I got the opportunity to visit deeper part of the foothills to experience shallot harversting. A close friend of my mother owned a few hectares of farmlands tucked away deep in the mountain. I heard from their son that it was harvest season, so I immeditely volunteered for the adventure.
We started the journey at 5 AM with regular car then switch to different car fitting for the mountain rough terrain. On our way to the harvest area, we passed through thick jungle where it feels like we were sandwiched between the lush greenery and the dangling roots all around it.
Somewhere along the winding path, The son of the family started telling me that there was a famous coffee plantation and factory in the area. He pointed to the remnants of the factory as well as some abandoned villa all around these foothills of Mt. Wilis. One thing that came out of my mouth was " How did they even know this place existed?", considering it was ages ago and even today this place is still considered remote.
So, how did the dutch even scouted it? Whoever did that back in the day certainly has no fear of anything. I also heard that today, you can still find a lively wild animals animal including smaller sized tiger once in a while.
As we pressed on, our 30 minutes bumpy ride, eventually come to a fruition. We started seeing rows of shallots.
The family owns the biggest hut in the area. Practically, you can live there as it has a room, a bathroom, a common kitchen with a view like this.
Before we start the harvest, the workers and us had the chance to fuel oursevles with packed lunch. They also served me a coffee, famous from the region. It was good!
I walked around further to explore the trails all around the places. Locals told me about different paths we could take to explore it as well as places we we could do bike trails. So, I walked around because they don't need me to harvest yet. I found these beautiful spots all around the area that looks so untounched and raw.
After I got tired exploring around, I joined the workers to pick shallots, filling up the bag with laughters filled the air to pass the time. It was really fun to pluck out the shallots and do the harvest.
This is once in a lifetime opportunity for me to experience this activity. After some rest, I took pictures of the workers who was waiting for lunch time.
Once we finished the row in the back of the hut, I explored another rows in front of it there's this beautiful blooming flowers of shallots.
The mist started to appear during noon and it was time for us to also go down from the mountain. It was my first time exploring this mountain and didn't know it was hikeable at first. If you enjoy hiking or trekking, this is one of the most underrated, untounched places in East-Java and around.
Many people who passes this city don't even know this place existed, including myself. This is why, I wondered how did the dutch even found it and built an empire of coffee plantation in this region?
This was the adventure that left me with more questions than answer. I wanted to go back there again and hoping I could get another chance to visit and explore more of the area. I saw some waterfalls around it that I didn't get the chance to look at. On the map, this place is also called Mt Liman too ( which is the highest peak of it) and the Mt Wilis itself is the name of the mountain range of the area because it connects several places in the region.
Maybe it's time to explore your own city and who knows, just as I do, finding this spot that looks so mesmerizing eventhough I frequent and currently living in this city.
𝘊𝘦𝘮𝘺 (𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘤) 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘱 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺; 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴. |