Mountain Travel In Magelang Tidar

Mountain Travel In Magelang Tidar ( Foto @U-Report )

This is the name of the hill in the Magelang Municipality, Central Java. For some people, Mount Tidar is a strange name. Actually this is not a mountain, it is like a hill but habitual the people call it with Gunung Tidar. Mount Tidar is located in the Magersari village Magelang Municipality.  The people believed that Mount Tidar is a spike of Java. Why does it call as a spike of Java? Geographically, Mount Tidar really located in the middle of Java. Called as a spike of Java is also for keeping the balances of earth moving in its axis.

Based on the legends and stories that surround the Mount Tidar until now, there was a story about the struggle of Syekh Subakir conquered magical jinn that dominated the Mount Tidar. In this story the jinn was like Semar and lived in this mountain. Mount Tidar was a jungle and the jinn had a palace for living them. The figure of Semar in the legend is different with Semar in shadow puppet.

The figure of Semar in the Mount Tidar’s legend can be conquered by a moslem from Turkey who propagated the religion of Islam in the Java. When He taught the religion of Islam, he got the rebellion from Semar and his jinns’ troops. But Syech Subakir could beating out them.

The Mount Tidar is located 503 above sea level. Thera are many versions talking about the origin of Tidar. One of them are stated that the name Tidar came from two words. “Mati” (die) and “Modar” (Modar is Javanese. The meaning is also die). Beacuse of the haunted of Mount Tidar at the first time when the people came to the mount would be dead or in Javanese said “Modar”



The people only need 30 minutes to reach the top of the mount. In the slope, there are many vegetations like pine, fruit, and salaks. The effect of them makes the Magelang Municipality has cool weather and to be one of the town that can be pleasant place for staying besides Yogyakarta. Nowadays there is no difficulties to  reach up the top. The government of Magelang Municipalty had constructed the footpath to be better than several years before.


For information that in Mount Tidar there are three cemeteries. Every day, many people from the diverse place come to Mount Tidar to pray in those cemeteries beside to breath of fresh air. The cemeteries are Syech Subakir, the moslem that conquered the Jinn Semar, Kyai Sepanjang and the Jinn Semar. Actually Kyai Sepanjang is not a person. It is syech Subakir’s weapon. His weapon is javelin. By using his javelin Syech Subakir killed Semar Jinn. The length of his javelin is 7 meters. The cemetery of Kyai Sepanjang in unique.  The lenght is 7 meters and the width is 1 meters. And the last, the cemetery of Kyai Semar, the jinn.

Kyai Semar’s cemetery also has unique shape. His cemetery covers by the building like a cone and the colour is yellow so it makes his cemetery likes a giant tumpeng. In the cone above his cemetery, there is a keris that stands up above it. The length is 2 meters. That is why his cemetery has different shape with the others. The cone means that the position and the authority of God is above all.