Deadly Mount Merapi turns into tourist attraction
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Indonesia is planning to develop an educational park on the slopes of Mount Merapi, the Central Java volcano that started erupting late last year, killing more than 300 people. The Jakarta Post reported that the local Jogja Heritage Society (JHS) plans to develop the Merapi Education Park, including indoor and outdoor museums to teach the public about the recent eruptions. Abandoned villages that were evacuated during the eruptions would be transformed into tourist attractions, the group said.
Meanwhile, the area around Merapi has received a more unexpected tourism boost. The Putih River in the Central Java town of Magelang has become a new tourist attraction. The river, which originates from Mount Merapi, has become flooded with volcanic debris since the volcano’s eruption. As a result it has been drawing visitors from nearby Yogyakarta and further afield.
“I want to see with my own eyes what the [volcanic] materials from Merapi look like, especially because my house sits near a river,” the Antara new agency quoted one visitor as saying yesterday. Locals have started selling food, drinks and souvenirs to the visitors, the report added.
The river flows are not all good news however. Conservationists warned last week that the volcanic debris flowing from Merapi could threaten local heritage sites, including the UNESCO-listed Prambanan Temple.
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