Bromo – Ijen Tour

If you decide to make traveling over Indonesia do not ever forget to stop by Mount Bromo, the mother of active volcano in East-Java, Indonesia.
Bromo Caldera is the youngest caldera from well-known Tengger Caldera a volcanic massif extending from Semeru volcano with 16 km width. The massive Tengger volcanic complex dates back to about 820,000 years ago and consists of five overlapping stratovolcanoes, each truncated by a caldera. The volcano has summit elevation 2329 meter, latitude: 7.942°S and Longitude: 112.95°E 112°57’0″E last eruption was on 2007.

An overlapping cluster of post-caldera cones was constructed on the floor of the Sandsea caldera within the past several thousand years. The youngest of these is Bromo, one of Java’s most active and most frequently visited volcanoes. Bromo is the most favourite and most visited by the tourists.

Cold, those things are the first you will be feel when you get-off from the car and step-down your foot print in the land of Bromo. The temperature around 10oC – 0oC, the lowest temperature usually held in the morning just before sun rise. That is why we suggest you to prepare warm cloth, glove and wear cotton trouser before heading to Mt. Bromo.

The visitor usually starting their tour in the very early morning at 03.30 AM, the first destination of their trip is to witness the sunrise from the peak of Mount Penanjakan 2774 above sea level, as this mountain is the highest mountain in surrounding area. To reach this mountain you should pass the sand of sea (looks like desert) planted with dry bush every where combining with the flying sand every which way blow by the that is potentially make the visitor hard to breath and easily get lost especially in the darkness.

There will be narrow path and curve ascend road en rout to Penanjakan mountain and of course you should have sufficient driving skills to devote it. To avoid un-expect thing happens, usually visitors use the jeep4x4WD to reach Penanjakan mountain that is driving by local people who know this area intimately. They are very nice to the visitor and very hospitality makes you feel like at home.

The sunrise will take place at around 05.20 – 05.40 AM depend on season, the best time to see the sunrise would be around at May – September (no rainfall within that month).

After sunrise usually people then moves back down to sand of sea to explore bromo crater. There will be an option to get the crater, first you can do it by easy walk or if you wish to try how to feel in horseback then you can ride it with only USD 7-9 go and fro start from the jeep parking place and it takes 15-20 minutes on horseback to get to stairways of Mount Bromo, then you should step up the stairways till reach the rim of the crater (1.392 above sea level). There are 250 stairways from the first step till the last steps, but sometimes people have different number in counted of the stairways (I was found there were 248 stairways, but my mate have calculated 246), looks so strange but its real.

Beside Mount Bromo, East Java has also amazing place to go. That is Kawah Ijen (Ijen Lake). The Ijen volcano is located in the east of Java province of a group of small stratovolcanoes constructed within the large 20-km-wide Ijen (Kendeng) caldera. The last eruption was on 1999The north caldera wall forms a prominent arcuate ridge, but elsewhere the caldera rim is buried by post-caldera volcanoes, including Gunung Merapi stratovolcano, which forms the 2799 m high point of the Ijen complex. Immediately west of Gunung Merapi is the renowned historically active Kawah Ijen volcano, which contains a nearly 1-km-wide, turquoise-colored, acid crater lake.

Summit Elevation: 2799 m 9,183 feet Latitude: 8.058?S 8?3’30″S Longitude: 114.242?E 114?14’30″E

Picturesque Kawah Ijen is the world’s largest highly acidic lake and is the site of a labor-intensive sulfur mining operation in which sulfur-laden baskets are hand-carried from the crater floor. Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones forms an E-W-trending zone across the southern side of the caldera.

Coffee plantations cover much of the Ijen caldera floor, and tourists are drawn to its waterfalls, hot springs, and dramatic volcanic scenery.

You may be needed at least 3 days journey to grab all the beautiful things of both Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen. Bellow arrangement will showed how the itineraries going;

From Bromo to Ijen

This package is the most favorite tour for visitors who wish to make their trip in very short. The pretty of sun rise and the beautiful landscape of sea-sand along with live picture of the whole shape of mt. Semeru vision from the highest spot of Penanjakan 2774 asl. So, prepare yourself to have unforgettable experience that never imagine before.

Connecting trip from Bali to Yogya, or from Yogya to Bali :

From Yogya: Take a train or domestic flight through Surabaya, end of tour at Ferry Terminal to catch a boat to Bali

From Bali : Take a boat to cross the Bali strait to Ketapang Terminal, end of tour at Surabaya air port / Train station to Yogya.

Day 1 >> Surabaya – Bromo
Meet with our guide at Surabaya air port signing JavaBush or written your name on the page. Our private comfort coach then takes you to Mt. Bromo, en routing to rural settlement and hilly road with green coloring of paddy field along the way will make your eyes fresh. If the time permitted we can stop at Madakaripura water fall, this spectacular waterfall lies hidden at the end of a deep valley in the foothills of the Tengger range. The water has cascades from the dense forest above. The primary attraction is natural environment that is encircled by 7 waterfalls and caves. Check in the hotel located at the last village, which it is facing to smokes Bromo crater.

Day 2 >> Bromo – Ijen
Wake up at very early morning, making short preparation for Sun Rise tour, and then the private jeep 4x4WD will drive you up to Penanjakan Mountain 2774 asl as the highest place to the Sun Rise and amazing view of mountain range. You may become live witnesses how amazing Bromo view that spread in your naked eyes, the sun with pink color ray with gold-yellow silhouette drift on slowly from east horizon. It will grab you in to the different atmosphere and unforgettable moment that you never imagine before. After that, proceeding drive back to Bromo crater to witness the crater from closed. Back to the hotel for breakfast, short back packing and heading to Ijen volcano in Bondowoso. Around 5 hours drive en routing flat and hilly curves road, stop for picture taking would be an option subject to your interest. Check-in the Ijen Resort hotel and stay overnight.

Day 3 >> Ijen – Surabaya / Ferry Terminal Banyuwangi
Early in the morning, well before sunrise, we drive a short way to the start of the trail that leads up to the active, beautiful crater of Kawah Ijen volcano (about 1 hr climbing) with its famous blue acid lake (the most acidic in the world!) and the hot, partly liquid sulphur deposits.
The fumaroles are so hot that sulphur comes out as green vapour. The vapour is collected by large pipes, through which the vapor condenses, and at the exit you see red rivulets of liquid sulphur, which then freeze to solid deposits.  These deposits are quarried, in order to obtain huge blocks of pure sulphur. Ijen’s sulphur deposits are infamous for the local workers who quarry the sulphur with primitive, health-devastating methods,- an incredibly difficult job.
Gas-masks are provided for your visit to the crater. After plenty of exploration time, we leave the Ijen Plateau transfer to Surabaya airport or other destinations.

Finally, I wish have a nice journey and safe trip.

See you in Bromo..

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