Gunung Galunggung, Stratovolcano in Tasikmalaya, Indonesia
Gunung Galunggung is a stratovolcano in Tasikmalaya on Java that rises to 2168 meters (7113 feet) above sea level and features a horseshoe-shaped crater with a lake at its center. The crater walls drop steeply while dense forests cover the outer slopes and several trails lead up to the rim.
An eruption in 1822 lasted several months and claimed around 4000 lives through pyroclastic flows and lahars. The 1982 eruption began in April and continued for nine months, during which ash clouds damaged two passenger jets in flight and killed more than 60 people on the ground.
The name comes from a Javanese word meaning to roll, referring to a legend about a princess who rolled down the slopes. Pilgrimage sites near the crater rim draw believers who offer prayers and light incense.
The climb takes around two to three hours and follows partly steep stairs and paths through the forest. Vendors at the crater rim sell fresh vegetables such as fern shoots and watercress that grow on the fertile slopes.
A tunnel completed in 1994 drains water from the crater lake and prevents overflow that could trigger mudflows. The drained water irrigates rice paddies and fish ponds in surrounding villages, turning the resource into farmland supply.
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