The impressive bubbling yellow crater is just below the peak and clearly visible from the Garut valley on clear mornings. From the car-park it is an easy half-hour walk to the crater, which is riddled with bubbling mud pools, steam vents and crumbling sulphur deposits. Take care – keep well to the right when ascending through the crater.
Consider hiring a guide (around 350,000Rp per day, but many will allow bargaining) from the PHKA office, as the car-park area is generally full of cowboys. For fine views, go early in the morning before the clouds roll in. Gunung Papandayan’s summit is a two-hour walk beyond the crater, and there are fields of Javan edelweiss near the top.
