Ketep is a village in Central Java, known for the Ketep Pass, a mountain pass between Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu.

Ketep Pass

It offers a great vantage point for a spectacular view of both mountains. Ketep Pass is approximately 1,200m above sea level. This site has a small cinema which regularly shows an interesting documentary of Mount Merapi, a restaurant, countless food-stalls and a Museum of Volcanology. Located east of Borobudur, 40 minutes from Yogyakarta by car.

Entrance fee is Rp30,000 for foreigners. The fee entitles one to free passage to the cinema and museum, to the use of a telescope, and to a free non-alcoholic drink in the restaurant. It is advisable to visit Ketep Pass either in the dry season or at the very least, in the early morning during the rainy season. Otherwise, the spectacular view of the mountains will be ruined by clouds covering the peaks.

Get in

By bus

From Yogyakarta, take a TransJogja bus to the Jombor terminal. Then take a bus heading towards Magelang. Alight at the Blabak market in the town of Mungkid. Walk southward along the main road. Ask the locals for directions to the bus station, which is located only a few hundred metres south of the Blabak market on the opposite side of the main road. The "bus station" is actually a waiting place for angkots (minibuses). Take an angkot to Tlatar, a village 15km away (Rp 3,000). At Tlatar, take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) to Ketep Pass, a further 6km away.

Get around

Mount Telomoyo, seen from Ketep Pass

You may stroll around the Ketep Pass on foot.

See

• 1 Kedung Kayang Waterfall, off Jl. Boyolali-Magelang. A 30m tall waterfall, about 3 km east of Ketep. Rp4,000. (updated Nov 2016)
• 2 Ketep Volcano Centre (KTC). A volcanology museum. Entry: Rp12,500. (updated Dec 2022)

Do

• 1 Ketep Volcano Theatre. 08:00-15:00. Watching a documentary film about the Merapi volcano. Rp9,000. (updated Dec 2022)
• There are numerous strawberry farms around Ketep Pass. You can pick your own strawberries. The price is calculated on the gram scale.

Eat

Typical food served at one of the food-stalls.

There is a restaurant inside Ketep Pass that serves Chinese food and seafood. There are also many food-stalls inside and outside Ketep Pass, selling typical Indonesian street food.

Roasted corn is popular here.

Try eating at any of the food-stalls inside Ketep Pass overlooking the valley below.

Drink

Coffee shops

• 1 Kopi Daong, Gondangsari, Ketep, ☏ +62 857 790 29174. 09:00-19:00. (updated Dec 2022)

Teahouses

• 2 Kedai Teh Ndara, Dadapan, Ketep. A teahouse with a sunset view in the afternoon. (updated Dec 2022)

Sleep

The valley between Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu

• 1 Pesona Ketep, Ketep, Sawangan, ☏ +62 813 286 00100. Check-in: 13:00, check-out: 12:00. A hotel with a volcano view. From Rp350,000. (updated Dec 2022)

Go next

• Selo in Boyolali, a village from which to start the climb up Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu.
• Candi Asu, Candi Lumbung and Candi Pendem, ancient Hindu temples only a few hundred metres away from the village of Tlatar. When taking an ojek from Tlatar to Ketep Pass, tell the driver to make a few short detours to the temples. Take note: Candi Pendem is not directly accessible by motorcycle; one will have to walk through fields of rice and grass.