NDP - National Day Pendaki

NDP – National Day Pendaki

At Knapsack Treks, NDP stands for National Day Pendaki. There is actually a story behind this project. A long time ago, I had this plan to climb all the 3,000m peaks (12 of them) on the island of Java. I called it Java3000. It was inexpensive, highly doable and I was in my early 40s. However, work and family commitment robbed me of the opportunity to accomplish this dream.

I’m almost 60 now and time is definitely running out. If I ever want to accomplish Java3000 at all, it’s now or never. But I want to make it a bit more meaningful than just bagging peaks at random. Someone who climbs for the sake of the summit and the summit alone is not respecting the heavenly scenery. Since August is the best month to climb in Indonesia, why not summit a 3,000m peak – any one for that matter, on National Day?

I started this NDP – National Day Pendaki in 2016 when I climbed Gunung Merbabu 3145m on National Day. The following National Day in 2017, I climbed Gunung Rinjani 3726m in Lombok followed by Gunung Sindoro, Gunung Lawu, Gunung Agung. Getting rid of the “Java” allows me to go further.

NDP 2023 – Gunung Kerinci (Sumatra). I will continue to climb Indonesian peaks between June and September, but it will not necessarily be on National Day and I won’t call it NDP anymore.