Gunung Agung volcano

Gunung Agung volcano

The Agung volcano dominates the island's eastern part with a towering height of 3,142 meters. The volcano is still active to this day. Since Bali is the most renowned area as a tourist attraction in Indonesia , naturally the Agung Volcano is probably the most-climbed volcano in the country. There are three hiking trails to reach the peak of the Agung volcano, but the most commonly used is the one going from the Besakih temple.
On 18th of February 1963, local residents heard loud explosions and saw clouds rising from the crater of Mount Agung. On 24th of February, lava began flowing down the northern slope of the mountain, eventually traveling 7 km in the next 20 days. On 17th of March, the volcano erupted, sending debris 8 – 10 km into the air and generating massive pyroclastic flows. These flows devastated numerous villages, killing approximately 1500 people. Cold lahars caused by heavy rainfall after the eruption killed an additional 200. A second eruption on 16th of May led to pyroclastic flows which killed another 200 inhabitants.
The magma flow from the eruption of Mount Agung also pressed the former from Japanese Navy torpeded US ship Liberty back into the sea where it presently rests at a depth of 3 to 29 meters. It was my first destination on Bali for eighteen dives.