Gunung Kapalatmada

Gunung Kapalatmada is a mountain in South Buru Regency, Maluku, Indonesia, and the highest point of the island of Buru. Peakbagger lists its elevation and topographic prominence as 2,700 m (8,858 ft), while the Indonesian peak-bagging site Gunung Bagging gives 2,683 m (8,802 ft) for both values; the discrepancy reflects the uncertain survey data available for this little-visited summit.^{1 • 2}

Location and terrain

The mountain stands in the Buru Highlands of southern Buru, in Maluku province. Peakbagger places it at 3° 18′ 2″ S, 126° 13′ 12″ E in South Buru Regency, and assigns it to the Moluccas section of the Malay Archipelago, with drainage toward the Banda Sea, the Molucca Sea, and the Pacific.¹ Mapcarta, drawing on OpenStreetMap and GeoNames, records a peak node at slightly different coordinates (about 3° 15′ S, 126° 9′ E) with an elevation of 2,428 m, a third value that illustrates how inconsistently this summit is mapped across databases.³

Prominence and rankings

Because Kapalatmada is the highest point of its island, its key col lies at sea level and its topographic prominence equals its full elevation, about 2,700 m. Prominence of this size qualifies it as an "ultra" and places it high in regional prominence rankings.¹ Peakbagger's peak lists rank it 151st in the World Top 200 by Prominence, 14th among Asian island high points above 1,000 m, 19th among the ultras of the Malay Archipelago, and 22nd among Indonesian peaks with 1,000 m of prominence (the Ribus).¹ Gunung Bagging's Southeast Asian prominence list places it 24th, just above Gunung Sumbing in Central Java.⁴

Its isolation is also large: the nearest higher terrain in the Peakbagger database is Gunung Binaiya on the neighboring island of Seram, 358.35 km away to the east.¹

Name and climbing record

The summit carries several recorded spellings. Mapcarta lists Gunung Kakupalatmada, Ka' Palat Mada, Kapalatmada, and Kau Palatmada, and the Indonesian form Gunung Kapalatmada; Gunung Bagging adds Kaplamada, Kapalamadan, and Kepala Madan.^{3 • 2} Gunung Bagging notes that the name itself may be incorrect, since a local hiker from the region refers to a high peak there called Kakudgehan, and recommends consulting the relevant Bakosurtanal (Indonesian national survey) map before any attempt.²

A local folk tradition reported in Indonesian media explains the name in two parts: "Kapal" refers to a boat or ship, while "Tmada" is linked to a local king or important historical figure.⁵

The mountain is effectively unclimbed in the modern record. Gunung Bagging describes it as almost certainly not climbed in recent decades, with only animal tracks, presumably wild pig, visible high on the mountainside in satellite imagery, and calls it one of the most significant mysterious peaks in Indonesia outside Papua.² Peakbagger logs a single registered-user ascent or attempt since records began in 2004.¹ Satellite imagery shows animal tracks high on the mountain, and Gunung Bagging classifies it in the "Tinggi Sedang" Ribu category with World Ribus ID 69018.²

References

1. Kapalatmada, Indonesia, Peakbagger.com
2. Gunung Kapalatmada – Kaku Ghegan, Gunung Bagging
3. Mount Kapalatmada Map, Mapcarta
4. List of Southeast Asian mountains by Prominence, Gunung Bagging
5. Mengungkap Sejarah dan Misteri Gunung Kapalatmada, Pagaralampos.disway.id

Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026

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