How to get to stunning Nepal Van Java and the best things to do

If you have been wondering how to get to stunning Nepal Van Java and the best things to do then you have come to the right blog post! We have spent 4 days in this colorful village in the foothills of the Sumbing volcano.

Contents of this blog post:

How to get to Nepal Van Java

Getting to Nepal Van Java can be a little bit tricky as there is no public transport that takes you there. We were staying in Yogyakarta when we decided to visit Nepal Van Java which is about 2-hour car ride away.

There are a few options to consider in order to get to Nepal Van Java:

• Taxi (around 500.000 IDR (~30€)
• Renting a motorbike for the whole time you go for 100.000 IDR (~6€) per day
• Ordering a Grab for 350.000 IDR (~21€) + 25.000 IDR (~1.5€) per person for the motorbike taxi at the end
  
  Download Grab on the iPhone App Store: here
  Download Grab on Google Play: here

Since we are traveling with 4 Backpacks we ordered a Grab from Yogyakarta for 350.000 IDR (~21€). If we didn’t have a lot of luggage we would have chosen the motorbike. But make sure it is a strong motorbike and that it has good breaks!

The village originally named Dusun Butuh is at a very high altitude and to reach it you have to go up a very very steep road and the Grab car couldn’t make it, so we had to switch to motorbike taxis called ‘ojek’ (pronounced as ‘ocheck’) for the last 10 minutes. The ojek that brought us to our homestay cost us an additional 25.000 IDR (~1.5€) per person. They fit one bag in the front and one bag we had on our backs, the ride up is not fun because it is so steep and we both had trouble holding on to the bike with our heavy backpacks on the back which basically pulled us downhill. You might have to ask them to stop for a little so you can rest and then keep going to the top.

Things to do

Nepal Van Java is a very small village that is not very touristy and offers incredible views of the colorful houses reaching up on the slopes of the volcano.

Several viewpoints are scattered across the village so you can see all different views of the village. If you have a drone definitely bring it to get even better perspectives and incredible photos.

Hiking Mount Sumbing

Very adventurous travelers can also climb the volcano called Gunung Sumbing starting from Nepal Van Java. It is a very challenging hike and a lot of people do it as an overnight trip. We hiked it in 1 day and oh boyyy it was tough.
The hike is only 7.5km long but has an elevation gain of over 1800 meters! The first half is quite easy but the second half is brutal!
Even if it looks cloudy in the beginning you will most likely hike up above the clouds and have full sun exposure.

What to bring for the hike:

• Proper shoes as it is very steep and slippery
• Enough Water as it gets hot and is very demanding
• Sunscreen, also for your lips (e.g. chap-stick with SPF)
• Tube scarf to protect your neck and face from dust and the sun
• Hat to prevent sunstroke
• (optional) Poles to help ease the weight on the knees when hiking downhill)
• (optional) Rain jacket, since the weather can change very quickly

Here you can watch our YouTube Video from the hike:

Where to stay

We stayed at a homestay up in Nepal Van Java called Bintang Homestay, which we booked via WhatsApp. 1 Night cost us 250.000IDR and we were super happy with the location and amenities. It had a kitchen a fridge and a clean spacious shared bathroom.
If you go to Google Maps, zoom in to Nepal Van Java and select Hotels you can find a few more homestays to choose from. Most of them are contactable via WhatsApp.

Where to eat

During the day we can highly recommend a place that is at this location, it is renovated and does not look like in the pictures on Google Maps. The Soto Ayam (Chicken Soup) and the Nasi Goreng Ayam (Fried Rice with Chicken) is absolutely delicious, the prices are less than 2€ per dish.
We also saw that at the base camp for hiking Mount Sumbing they sell food.

In the mornings you can find some vendors with food carts that sell all different kinds of delicacies!

How to get from Nepal Van Java to Yogyakarta

If you – just like us – didn’t rent motorbikes to get here I can recommend asking your host to arrange transportation for you or already try to make a deal with your driver that brought you to Nepal Van Java.
Grab would theoretically also work, but we didn’t use it, as our host arranged the driver for us to Yogyakarta train station.
We paid 450.000IDR for the driver.

Good to know

BEWARE this town goes to sleep early, almost as soon as the sun sets you will have a hard time finding restaurants or shops that are open! I would suggest to already bring something like instant noodles that you can quickly prepare as an emergency meal in the homestay.

If you happen to be hungry after sunset AND everything seems to be closed AND you have no emergency food, then I recommend walking around the town and asking locals (with the help of Google Translate) where to find food. We did that and an old couple brought us to the house of an old lady. He went inside to talk to her and ask if she would cook for us and indeed she did!

Visuals from stunning Nepal Van Java