Kaliadem Developed as Tourist Site: Central Java, Indonesia

In the face of adversity and disaster it is always pleasing to read about the locals in the area turning the situation around and making use of it.

When massive clouds of hot ash that descended on the Kaliadem and Kendit Hill tourist areas of Cangkringan near Yogyakarta, the famous site was virtually destroyed. Now the locals are intent on benefiting from this. Kaliadem is or was a famous recreation site where people came to enjoy the cool mountain air are taking on new life as an attraction for those fascinated by the spectacle of volcanoes.

The Hundreds of tourists from various cities throughout the country are flocking to the former recreation area to see the legacy of Mt. Merapi's fury in the huge piles of stones and volcanic ash.

Head of the Sleman Tourism Office, Yuli Setiyono, said the piles of volcanic materials at Kaliadem tourist area will be left just the way they are. They can be used as proof of the strength of Mount Merapi as this can attract curious tourists.

In the future if Merapi cools down the location of the site would be expanded. Visitors can only witness the beauty of Merapi from below as they are prohibited from climbing the mountain because it is still dangerous. As soon as Merapi is back to normal the visitors will be allowed to ascend to higher areas.

The new tourist attraction's management would be fully entrusted to the local people, primarily the victims of the eruptions, to provide them with a new livelihood. The entrance fee would be set at Rp 5,000 while the parking fee would be Rp 5,000 for cars and Rp 3,000 for motorcycles.

About 10 days after Merapi erupted on June 14 which devastated Kaliadem many visitors flocked to the area to see the huge piles of volcanic debris.

The rising number of visitors has been a boon to the residents living on Merapi's slopes. At Kaliadem hamlet in Umbulharjo village local youths of Karang Taruna youth organization have been able to generate an additional income of Rp 700,000 per day from parking fees.

The daily income reaches about Rp 700,000 on ordinary days and jumps to Rp 1.5 million Sundays one of the Kaliadem villagers said

The income will be used to meet the daily needs of the residents, especially water, after the water spring in the hamlet was damaged during the eruption. All the water pipelines in the hamlet were also totally destroyed.