Image credit: Jakub Hałun via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
Indonesia has temporarily closed hiking tourism at nine national parks after forest and land fires forced firefighting crews to split their attention. Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced the order on August 31, 2026, in Palembang, and park offices began applying it on September 1. Travelers with Semeru, Kerinci, Leuser, Gede Pangrango, or other named climbs on the calendar should treat those routes as shut until a park office says otherwise.
The closure is a safety and resource decision, not a nationwide park shutdown. Four other conservation areas, including Mount Rinjani National Park on Lombok, remain open only under limited access. If you hold a permit, a guide booking, or a flight built around one of these mountains, confirm the exact trail with the local park office before you travel.
Image credit: Jakub Hałun via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Order: Hiking tourism at nine named national parks is temporarily closed after the Aug. 31 forestry announcement.
- Start: Park offices began applying the order on Sept. 1, 2026, including Kerinci trail closures.
- Still limited: Rinjani, Merbabu, Halimun Salak, and the Hyang Highlands remain open only in tighter safe zones.
- Bookings: Rinjani paused new eRinjani online reservations on Sept. 1; prepaid trips before that date can still be served.
- Unknown: The ministry has not published an end date for the nine-park hiking halt.
What the forestry minister confirmed
In a Palembang briefing reported by state news agency ANTARA, Raja Juli said several national parks had already burned and were pulling water-bombing helicopters away from six priority provinces. Those provinces are Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan.
He said a formal circular would follow from the Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation, known as KSDAE. Until that paperwork lands at each park, the minister’s public list is the controlling traveler signal. Channel News Asia independently reported the same nine-park hiking halt and the same four limited-access areas on September 1.
The minister framed the move as visitor safety plus firefighting focus. He pointed to Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, especially the Mount Semeru climbing route, where about 170 hikers had been trapped by fire and later evacuated. He did not give a reopen date.
The nine parks where hiking is shut
ANTARA’s official readout names hiking closures at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, with particular emphasis on the Mount Semeru route; Kerinci Seblat National Park; Mount Ciremai National Park; Tambora National Park; Manusela National Park; Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park; Mount Gede Pangrango National Park; Mount Leuser National Park; and selected routes in Lorentz National Park in Papua.
The Lorentz limits are specific. Independent and state reports list the Ilaga, Tsinga, Sugapa, and Ugimba routes, not a blanket shutdown of every Papua itinerary. If your operator sold a Lorentz trek on another corridor, still verify it. A national hiking order can spread to adjacent trails without a second headline.
Do not assume the rest of each park is sealed. The ministry’s language targets hiking tourism and climbing routes, which is the product most foreign visitors buy. Viewpoint roads, villages, and non-hiking day stops can still change with local fire lines, haze, and park notices, so treat those as a separate check.
Limited access parks, including Rinjani today
Four areas stay open only with extra patrols, bag checks, and designated safe zones: Mount Rinjani National Park, Mount Merbabu National Park, the Hyang Highlands Wildlife Reserve, also called Argopuro, and Mount Halimun Salak National Park. That is not a green light for a normal multi-day summit push.
On September 1, Rinjani park chief Budhy Kurniawan told RRI that limited nature tourism would continue for hiking, ritual, cultural, social, and research visits. The park is implementing the ministry circular. New online reservations through the eRinjani app stopped the same day. Bookings already paid before September 1 can still be served under existing rules.
Rinjani also banned careless use of fire and said it will reassess access from fire risk, the dry-season trend, and any new burns inside the park. Lombok travelers connecting through Bali should keep a non-summit backup. Deep Arrival’s Benoa cruise-port day guide is a coastal fallback, not a substitute for a Rinjani permit.
How Semeru and Kerinci are handling trips
Kerinci Seblat moved from announcement to gate. On September 1, acting park head Delfi Andra told ANTARA that all Mount Kerinci climbing routes via Kerinci and South Solok would close starting that date, with a written park notice still being issued. If you are already in Kersik Tuo or nearby villages, do not start a climb on a verbal rumor that one trail remains open.
Semeru is the highest peak on Java and one of the most popular permit climbs in the country. The national order singles out that route inside Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Ask the park office that issued your climbing permit, often called a SIMAKSI, for a written refund or reschedule path rather than relying on a reseller chat.
Deep Arrival already covered the earlier Bromo fire cycle in Is Mount Bromo Open After the August 2026 Wildfire? This nine-park hiking order is a new national decision, not a second Bromo-only reopen story. Java travelers who drop a Semeru or Gede Pangrango climb can still rebuild around cities. The Semarang day guide is one Java backup that does not depend on a closed summit trail.
Haze, helicopters, and what remains unknown
CNA reported that Indonesia is also fighting fires and hazardous haze across Kalimantan and Sumatra, with Pontianak and Palangkaraya posting extreme air-quality readings on September 1. That haze can affect airports, outdoor days, and even a trip that never touches a national-park trail. It is a separate traveler check from the hiking list.
Raja Juli said water-bombing helicopters that should have stayed in the six priority provinces had to be sent to burning parks. That is why the hiking halt is temporary and tied to firefighting capacity. It is also why no park office can honestly promise a summit date this week.
Unknowns still matter. The ministry has not said when the nine hiking closures end. Not every park had posted its own circular by the morning of September 1. Lorentz, Manusela, Tambora, and Bukit Baka Bukit Raya may move slower than Kerinci or Rinjani. Until those local notices appear, plan as if the minister’s list is in force.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Hold a Semeru, Kerinci, Leuser, Ciremai, Tambora, Manusela, Gede Pangrango, Bukit Baka, or listed Lorentz hike | Treat the climb as closed. Contact the park office or permit issuer for refund or a later window. |
| Have a Rinjani, Merbabu, Argopuro, or Halimun Salak itinerary | Expect limited access, bag checks, and fire rules. Confirm your exact date before flying. |
| Prepaid eRinjani before Sept. 1 | The park says paid bookings can still be served; new app slots are paused. |
| Are already in East Java or Jambi for a climb this week | Do not walk a closed route. Rebuild around towns, viewpoints the park still lists as open, or leave. |
| Booked a haze-season city or beach trip only | The hiking order does not cancel those plans, but check air quality and airport notices. |
Named summit hikes are off. The nine-park list is a hard stop for climbing tourism until a park office reopens the trail.
Rinjani is not a free pass. Limited access continues, and new eRinjani bookings are paused as of Sept. 1.
No end date is public. Build a refund path now rather than waiting for a reopen rumor.
What travelers should do next
Write to the park office that issued your SIMAKSI permit or e-ticket and ask for the written status of your exact route and date. Screenshot the minister’s list and the park reply. Outfitters should do the same instead of sending groups toward a trailhead to “see if it is open.”
If your trip can move, shift to a coastal or city plan and keep the mountain as a maybe. If it cannot move, cancel the climb first, then decide whether the rest of the Indonesia itinerary still works under haze and fire reports. Do not add a replacement volcano hike from the limited-access list without a fresh park confirmation.
Watch official park notices and local ANTARA or RRI updates for Kerinci, Semeru, Leuser, and Rinjani. Those four are the busiest visitor trails in this order and the fastest to publish local rules. The quieter parks can stay silent even while the national closure still applies.
Which Indonesia national parks closed hiking?
Hiking tourism is temporarily closed at Bromo Tengger Semeru, especially the Semeru route, plus Kerinci Seblat, Ciremai, Tambora, Manusela, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya, Gede Pangrango, Leuser, and listed Lorentz routes.
Is Mount Rinjani closed?
No. Rinjani remains open under limited access as of Sept. 1, 2026, with tighter patrols and a pause on new eRinjani online bookings.
When did the hiking closures start?
The forestry minister announced them on Aug. 31, 2026. Kerinci and Rinjani park offices began applying the order on Sept. 1.
Is there a reopen date?
No public end date has been issued. Parks say they will reassess from fire risk and dry-season conditions.
Can I still visit Indonesia if I am not hiking?
Yes. The order targets hiking tourism at named parks. City, island, and cruise plans are separate, though haze can still affect outdoor days and some airports.
