Elevation	2,877 m (9,439 ft); Prominence: 1,727 m
Province	Sumatera Barat (West Sumatra)
Ribu Category	Tinggi Sedang
Links	Wikipedia English ; Wikipedia Indonesia

Photos

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Photos provided by Daniel Quinn and Rob Woodall

Bagging It!

This dormant peak is close to the pleasant tourist town of Bukittinggi. Along with neighbouring Gunung Marapi, it dominates the landscape south of the town. Singgalang is a twin volcano with the lower yet volcanically active Gunung Tandikat. The mountain can be climbed from several places: Pakan Sinayan, Koto Tuo, Balingka and Pandai Sikat. Although approaches from the west offer views of nearby Lake Maninjau, the eastern approach from Pandai Sikat is by far the most popular and is just 15 minutes by public transport from Bukittinggi. Pandia Sikat itself is famous weaving and woodcarving village currently illustrated on the 5,000 Rupiah banknote. Unlike for neighbouring Mount Marapi, finding a guide in Bukittinggi is remarkably difficult – far fewer locals have climbed this mountain and barely any tourists trek to the top. In any case, the agents in Bukittinggi charge a bit more than is reasonable – the money then gets split between several people. If you can speak some basic Indonesian, the best thing to do is head to Pandai Sikat and find a villager willing to take you up there and then.

From Kotobaru on the main road heading south of Bukittinggi, follow the sign to Pandai Sikat and continue along the narrowing road to a small village named Pago Pago and onwards up the hillside towards several television transmitter masts. From Pago Pago the road gets much rougher but if you have motorbike transport you can get as far as the final TV mast at 1,575m. It takes just over 4 hours to reach the summit and 3 hours to descend the same way.

The trail itself leads from the end of the masts road along the right side of a wooden hut, past another, newer buildin before leading into dense bamboo-like vegetation. The trail is a little hard to find at this point but will be obvious when you are on it. Indeed, a bundle of 4 or 5 black electricity cables follows the trail all the way to the summit of the peak, so if in doubt follow the cables. This first section of the trek is by far the most unpleasant – especially for tall people – several times you have to crawl under the bamboo-like plants obstructing your headroom. There are also rather large leeches in this section so check your hands regularly and wear long trousers!

Thankfully the trail soon opens out into more regular tropical forest, with the sound of streams to your left. Water is not a problem on the hike as there are three posts on the way up near water sources and a lake near the summit. The first area used for camping is at 1,770m but the water sources (Mata Air 1, 2 & 3) are at approximately 1,974m, 2,240m and 2,594m respectively. At 2,650m the trail opens out onto steep rock and if you are lucky with the weather you should be able to see Marapi on the other side of the Agam valley.

Near the top of the rock section at 2,697m is a plaque dedicated to two students from Padang who went hiking here in 1988 and never returned. Shortly after this monument, the path dips slightly – still following the black cables – through muddy moss forest. The beautiful lake, Telaga Dewi (Lake of the Goddess) is just beyond the muddy area and it is a beautiful, tranquil spot and unusually free of litter. Locals like to camp here on Saturday nights but at any other time of the week you will probably be alone. The lake itself is where the crater of the volcano once was, thousands of years ago.

At the other side of the lake you should be able to see another transmitter mast at the highest point of the mountain. To reach this, follow the black cables along the side of the lake and then through very muddy and slippery forest. After 30 minutes you will be at the edge of the transmitter compound which is the highest point of Singgalang. This shabby, man-made area could not be in starker contrast with the natural beauty of the lake. However, in clear weather, you should be able to see Gunung Marapi on the other side of the valley.

Practicalities

Bagging information provided by Daniel Quinn