06.12.2022
Leaving Bali for Mount Bromo – ca. 370 km by car and ferry
I had booked the 3 Days on Java Tour to visit Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen with Indotravelteam since it was a shared tour and I did not have to pay a private tour. Logistically the 55 hrs on Java Tour would have fit better, but they did not have a suitable departure for that. I needed to leave today. So I took this one and would have to do some backtracking, but well … I could not be bothered to do it all independently by public transport … I was a bit strapped for time and not travelling on a shoestring really … and the 3 days / 2 nights tour was indeed not too expensive … Nowhere near of what I had been quoted for private tours or tours last week in Timor Leste …
Getting up at 04:00 I finished packing and got ready. By 04:45 I went to reception to check out … the night watch did not really care … so I just left the room key at the desk. It was still pitch black dark outside. My Bluebird app had already announced that my taxi was on the way and it sure arrived a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time. I had booked the fixed price IDR 52 000 to Gusto Gelato & Caffe Seminyak where the tour pick up point was … the pick up time was set for 05:45.
This early in the morning traffic was light and we reached my destination by 05:10 already … it was still dark and everything was closed. There was a 24 hrs burger place, but they did not have coffee … and it was too early for burgers … I settled in the front waiting for my pick up. No other tourists appeared …
Lucky I was that a minivan arrived by 05:25 and it turned out to be my tour van! The driver Opi told me I was the only person this morning so we could start right away. He would drive me the approx 130 km to the ferry port of Gilimanuk. En route out of the city towards the main road he was searching for a place to get me a coffee … Indomaret minimarkets were open already … unfortunately the attached coffee shops were not …
Slowly the sun was coming up. I napped a lot this early, but I also took in the landscape once we had left the cities. First we had to go north to eventually reach AH2 – the Denpasar-Gilimanuk Highway – which then turned west for several kilometers before heading sharply south and reaching the coast which it then followed almost til reaching Gilimanuk. The morning light was beautiful and the highway was busy with trucks carrying all kinds of goods.
Bali was not an off the beaten track destination – every bit of the island had been described in a myriad of blogs and photographed by thousands – the eastern and southern touristy parts of Bali were all in the spot light, but the west received literally zero attention … Funnily enough only few people actually happened to realize Bali was not a country but an island and was located right next to the much larger, more diverse and attractive island of Java. Having deliberately chosen the land route to Gilimanuk with doing this tour, I found the landscape impressive – the sheer vastness of it. As it was common in equatorial Indonesia with its lack of seasonal changes, rice fields in every stage of ripeness could be spotted.
Maybe half way we stopped for a break at Pantai Yeh Leh. It was a rest area right by the beach of the same name. Still very early in the morning the snack stalls there were only just opening up. But I finally got my coffee … of course I chose the Balinese Coffee – and not the dreadful Nescafe most were drinking – and soaked up the view while enjoying it.
Yeh Leh beach remained undeveloped as a tourist spot in Bali. The fact that not many people visited this beach had apparently made it unique and peaceful. Located just off the Denpasar-Gilimanuk Highway, Yeh Leh was littered with thousands of boulders either covered in algae or washed clean by the waves. These mysterious rocks had been smoothed over for hundreds of years, leaving few clues about their origin.
Towards the west I could make out the volcanos of East Java in the morning haze. They looked dramatic … so huge! I was sure those were Mount Raung to the left and Mount Merapi – the highest point of the Ijen volcano complex – on the right. The 3332 m high Mount Raung was one of the most active volcanoes on the island of Java. This stratovolcano had a 2 km wide and 500 m deep caldera surrounded by a rim. The last major eruption occured there in 2015. With 2769 m the extinct stratovolcano Merapi was the highest point of the eponymous larger Caldera Ijen, which was about 20 km wide. The name Gunung Merapi meant mountain of fire in the Indonesian language.
I went for a little walk to stretch my legs. The lady from the coffee place was just doing her morning rituals at the little temple by the road side. I was still on Bali were the special Balinese Hinduism was practiced. She left the same small offerings at the temple and the driveway as I had seen in Sanur the other day.
By the roadside was a huge Buffalo Racing Statue placed. It seemingly marked the border between the Tabanan Regency and the Jembrana Regency of Bali. Regencies – kabupaten – and cities – kota – were the second-level administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the provinces and above the districts. At this point we were entering Jembrana which was famous for its thrilling water buffalo races called Makepung. Those had been introduced by Madurese migrants – Madura being a tiny island off the north coast of Java – to celebrate the end of the rice harvest. The competitive races took place on erratic tracks. Mostly locals attended those festive events with a lot of rooting and cheering and frantic betting going on – hence a huge statue by the roadside …
Before we continiued I had to pay Opi for the tour. There was only cash excepted, that was why I had pulled so much from the ATM machine last night. I paid the fixed price for the shared tour which was IDR 4 490 000 – I could have paid € 290 or US$ 320, but I did not want to give up my emergency cash stash. I did not get a receipt for it … a photo had to do. I was sure it was all fine, though. This price included everything from transport to food, accommodation, permits and fees until I would be dropped off at Ketapang Train Station the day after tomorrow.
On we went and the rest of the trip to Gilimanuk went by quick and uneventful … I slept most of the time … routinely long bus rides had a soporific effect on me … But every now and then I woke up and admired more rice fields and the odd truck full with coconuts, motorbikes or other goods. There was much to see, but it was just not possible for me to stay awake all the time … if I had been driving myself I would have been wide awake … but I was not …
Gilimanuk was situated right on the strait between Bali and the main Indonesian island of Java. According to legend, it was a mythical Javanese king who created Bali – he banished his lout son to the eastern part of his empire and used his finger to draw a channel in the ground through which the waters of the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea poured. In this way, Java was separated from Bali forever.
Today, Gilimanuk was a major ferry port, but the city itself was said to have few sights. Opi stopped to get a ferry ticket for me and then drove me directly to the terminal entrance. Here I waved him farewell … It was approx 09:30 by now … The Javanese driver Ali had already whatsapped me to confirm he would be waiting for me on the other side of the Bali Strait separating the islands.
Ferries between Gilimanuk on Bali and Ketapang on Java ran 24 hrs a day every 20 min or so. After the ticket check I was on my own and went to find the boat. The terminal was really empty but Opi had pointed me up the stairs and then I walked along the hall. Eventually some officers waved me to go down the stairs and along the road to the big car ferry. I did not meet any other pedestrians and had to snake along the big trucks to get on.
It was a very old ferry. Somebody did check my ticked and ushered me on. When I was onboard I was kind of stuck between the stinky trucks and somewhat lost until some drivers pointed me around to go up steep, narrow stairs and I reached a large passenger area. However, I did not want to sit inside. I needed air and a view. So I searched for more stairs and eventually ended up on the very top next to the chimney … A glance at my ticket had me amazed … IDR 9650 was the price … all of € 0.60 …
I changed the place on the top deck a couple of times because the exhaust from the chimney was blowing over to me depending on the wind. It took a while before the ferry actually left and as it turned I moved again. The views made up for the noise and the smell of the old pot. The weather was good and the sea of the Bali Strait was calm.
The ferry was very slow. I could see the coast of Java … the Bali Strait was only approx 3 km wide here. My driver Ali whatsapped me asking if I was still on the ferry … Yes! Only about half way there, though! … And then the boat stopped just outside the ferry port of Ketapang for like 15 min … I could not make out why that was … maybe the dock was still busy? There were several ships moving about.
Finally the ferry moved again and docked. There were no announcements what so ever, but everybody seemed to start moving as we got closer to the dock. I followed other passengers down the narrow stairs to the truck deck again. I was amongst the first people to get off this floating wreck and walked to the parking lot where my driver Ali was waiting for me. Java was yet another hour behind Bali … Now I was only 6 hrs ahead of Germany … I was still the only person on the tour so far … Ali said, maybe this afternoon in Propolinggo there would be somebody coming. By 09:45 we were leaving Ketapang towards Propolinggo and Mount Bromo.
We took the Indonesian National Route 1 – it was a major road on Java and passed along the entire northern coast east to west connecting Ketapang’s ferry terminal to Bali with Merak’s ferry terminal to Sumatra with 1316 km of highway. Therefore it was also being called Pantura – as Pantai Utara for North Coast – or Trans-Java. First we stopped for some icetea in a minimarket, though.
The island of Java was one of the Greater Sunda Islands bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of approx 152 mio people, Java was the world’s most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Indonesian population. Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta was situated on Java’s northwestern coast. The island had been the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies – as well as the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s.
Formed by volcanic eruptions due to geologic subduction of the Australian Plate under the Sunda Plate, Java was the 13th largest island in the world and the 5th largest in Indonesia by landmass. A chain of volcanic mountains formed the east-west spine of the island. And this was my focus of attention for the next couple of days … Volcanoes! For now, however, I did look around some, but mostly caught up on my naps … I snoozed pretty much all of the next 2 hours … no energy to take more photos of rice fields and traffic …
I did some research online, though. 2 days ago I had received a frantic message from my sister telling me a volcano on Java had erupted and if I was sure where I was going. I, of course, got more excited of maybe seeing another erupting volcano up close … in fact it was Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on Java and a very active one as well. It rose steeply above the coastal plains of eastern Java at the south end of the Tengger Volcanic Complex and Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. I was however going to Mount Bromo which was a good 20 km as the crow flew north. If it had caused a problem, I was sure the tour company would have already contacted me … Ali as well confirmed, tall was good to go. But it had been big news on TV at home … and I would not have minded having a closer look either …
I had installed the free Earthquake app on my mobile already a couple of years ago when I was chasing lava in Iceland … it had come in handy during the last few weeks as well as it alerted me of any earthquake in the region … and there had been plenty … just in the last 24 hrs … but none had been close enough to me to feel anything …
Just before 12:00 noon we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. All meals were included on my tour. It was a quiet restaurant with a big garden. I ordered Fried Noodles with Egg and Watermelon juice … sadly they did not have beer … While I waited I went for a walk in the garden and watched the rice farmers next door plowing their field. They had a tractor hand plow and numerous Cattle Egrets – Bubulcus Ibis – were having a party behind it.
Lunch was good … there was nothing to be done wrong with ordering fried noodles, really. I was just not a rice person … I ate rice if I had to, but if I had the choice … and fried noodles were always fine.
While munching away I was surprised to see lockers to charge mobile phones … Amazing … I suppose if there were larger tour groups coming here and everybody had to charge their phone … in order to not accidentally swap the phone or have it nicked … plug it in and lock it up for the duration of lunch …
And they also sold snacks … dried mini fish … should I try or should I not? … I was torn … I actually should have bought some and try them … but in the end I did not … in hindsight I regretted it … but … I cannot have everything, can I?
Continuing I spotted more and more Mosques along the road. It was obvious that in Java Muslims made up the majority of the population. Java was Islamized in the 15th and 16th centuries – today approx 91 % of the Javanese and 97 % of the Sundanese were Muslim. However, 58 % of the Muslim Javanese described themselves as Abangan, which meant they did not consider Shari’a to be a directly applicable law. The rest were Santri, who represented a more orthodox interpretation of Islam. So it was not surprising that there were so many Mosques around. And my sister had warned me … there was only beer on Java and that only in special places … She had been adamant for me to make sure I came prepared … yeah yeah … I heard you!
This country, the Republic of Indonesia,
does not belong to any group
nor to any religion
nor to any ethnic group
nor to any group with customs and traditions,
but is the property of all of us from Sabang to Merauke!
Sukarno – 1945 to 1967 first president of Indonesia
While the road skirted the northern shore sometimes, there were mountains towards the south most of the time. I think one of them might have been the 1641 m high Mount Lamongan – a small stratovolcano located between the massif Tengger Caldera Complex and Iyang-Argapura Volcano Complex. It looked impressive. And along the shore we passed floating fishing huts – it was actually an aquaculture farm that looked like an interesting photo opportunity as well, but we just flew past.
We reached Propolinggo Train Station approx 14:30 this afternoon. Ali said we should wait here for one more customer who would arrive by train. He said I could go for a walk and he would message me when the train arrived.
Probolinggo – located on the north coast of East Java – had a population of approx 240 000 and had a large Madurese population in addition to many ethnically Javanese people. Under the Dutch East Indies colonial administration, especially in the 19th century, Probolinggo was a lucrative regional center for refining and exporting sugar and sugar remained an important product of the area. I wandered around and first had a huge Coconut for IDR 15 000. It was really hot … and the Coconut was really good!
Ali had said I had at least half an hour, maybe 1 hr to go explore. I kind of stayed in the quarter around the train station – mainly because it was just too hot and humid in the early afternoon. But I had an interesting stroll. There was the Great Mosque of Raudlatul Jannah west of Probolinggo City Square right near the train station. It used to be called the Jamik Mosque and was built around 1770. Its founder was Raden Brojonegoro or nicknamed Kanjeng Jimat – he was the first regent of Probolinggo, who had been appointed by the VOC – Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie – United East India Company. After his death, Kanjeng Jimat was buried right behind the Grand Mosque.
I did not go inside to visit it – I preferred to roam the side streets. I would have liked to find a bar for a cold beer, but I did not. There was plenty to look at though. Something really engaging was the small shop for ornamental fish and aquarium supplies. The bags with fish lined up outside were interesting, but I sure hoped the fish would be put back into a proper fish tank for the night … I checked … they were all still alive!
Hearing a train in the distance I went back to the train station … but it turned out it was not the train we were waiting for … So I walked some more and found a minimarket where I bought more icetea and fresh watermelon juice and splurged in an icecream as well. It was just so hot … By the time I got back to the station I had finished everything … icecream and all juices I had gotten … I was right in time for Ali to change the car … He said there had been a funny noise from the AC before and he changed the car with a colleague who was going to the head quarters to have it repaired … fine with me … the van was identical … except that even the front windshield had been covered in the tinted foil against the sun … later that proved to be really annoying …
For now I just waited with Ali at the train station for the train … it eventually arrived by 16:00 … My travel companion was Pawel from Poland who was an exchange student in Singapore and on the way to Bali before he was returning home for Christmas.
From Propolinggo we had another 1.5 hrs drive up to Cemoro Lawang – a very small hamlet just north-east of Mount Bromo at an altitude of 2217 m above sea level – which was principally the last village before and a base for early morning climbs of Mount Bromo, an active volcano which stood in the middle of the Sea of Sands. The weather changed dramatically as soon as we left the city and wound up the road ascended into the hills …
Here the all around tinted windows of the new van got really on my nerves … I just could not see out properly, let alone take photos … Cemoro Lawang’s climate was classified as subtropical highland and the relatively brief wet season – also known as summer – occurred from December to March having lukewarm temperatures and a good deal of rainfall … well … the rain started as we reached the higher parts and it got darker earlier than usual … due to the heavy rain clouds and it was sure earlier dark than on Bali … that 1 hr time change sure made a difference … it was dark just after 17:00 … the tinted windows did not help …
So we did not see much of the higher road or the village … and the rain was pouring now … We stayed at Good Karma Bromo Guesthouse right in the center of the village of Cemoro Lawang. I got a simple but big room with bathroom and hot water. It was not fancy, but it was adequate and in good weather it would probably have a great view … Today it was cold, though …
Murung – our guide for tomorrow – picked us up and in our rain jackets we walked some 5 min up the road to Kusama Kitchen, a small café. I was delighted to see they had beer! I had been dry all day, so I deserved a Bintang now! Dinner was an included set menu … we got Chicken Noodle Soup and rice and chips. It was good enough and sure warmed me up. Pawel and I chatted a bit and Murung gave us the rundown of tomorrows plan.
I only had to pay the beer … I had a second one and took one for take away as well for a total of IDR 105 000. By 19:00 I was back in my room and took a very quick shower … while the water was hot …. the room was cold … I quickly prepared for the morning hike and then climbed into my sleeping bag. It was sure cold up here! There was not much hanging about tonight … I quickly posted some photos and then it was eye shut time … the alarm would ring in the morning even earlier than usual …
07.12.2022
Climbing Mount Bromo for Sunrise
My Alarm rang at 03:30 … damn early … and it was still cold this morning … I even put on a long shirt under jumper and jacket … cameras all set … I was ready for pick-up at 04:00. Pawel was on time as well and we left with Murung in a bright red jeep. It was still pitch back dark … but it had stopped raining during the night and I could spot some stars up above … I had checked sunrise timing and it was at 05:02 today.
Since I was in Iceland last year to watch the new lava flow at Fagradalsfjall – which had been the most awe-inspiring and spectacular experience ever – I had become a crazy volcano buff … so visiting another active volcano was of course a must while I was on Java. The tectonics of Indonesia were very complex, as it was a meeting point of several tectonic plates – in fact located between 2 continental plates – the Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate – and between 2 oceanic plates – the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. The subduction of the Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate formed the volcanic arc in western Indonesia – one of the most seismically active areas on the planet with a long history of powerful eruptions and earthquakes. This chain of active volcanoes formed Sumatra, Java, Bali and the Lesser Sunda Islands – most of which, particularly Java and Bali, emerged within the last 2-3 mio years. The Pacific and Australian plate movements controlled the tectonics of the eastern portion of Indonesia.
We were not the only people going up for to Mount Bromo at this early hour. … literally dozens of jeeps … were winding their way up the narrow, dark road … and then lined both sides of the road as they parked near the sunrise viewpoints. Mount Bromo was the main attraction of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The otherworldly landscape and stunning scenery made it one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island of Java. Just outside the National Park there were some incredible viewpoints of Mount Bromo and its surroundings, which provide some of the most iconic and stunning views – especially at sunrise!
Murung had said last night he would decide which view point we would go to in the morning … depending on the weather mainly. Since it looked, good we did the regular tour route and reached the parking lot for King Kong Hill after an approx 35 min drive. We got off by the road side where the foot path to the view point started. It was crowded … eventhough it was Wednesday morning … I supposed it would be even more crowded on weekends … and everybody wanted to see the sunrise over Mount Bromo …
As we reached the actual viewpoint at approx 2600m above sea level after maybe 10 min walking it was already really packed with people … Murung took us a hundred meter further down the trail and then off the platform … actually around the platform so we were not in the big crowd and slightly below the platform with a unobstructed view of Mount Bromo and waiting for sunrise … it came slowly over the horizon and we had a good view of Cemoro Lawang below.
The rain clouds hung very low still, but below them the sun rose in the east. Some blue sky appeared as well as it got lighter and vistas became more and more stunning. The clouds made it in fact more mystical … I always preferred a bit of contrast … with a clear blue sky everybody could see it by buying postcard … In the distance to the east we had an awesome view of the lone-standing Mount Lamongan – a small 1641 m high stratovolcano – and behind Mount Argopuro – the massive Iyang-Argapura Volcano Complex with the highest point of 3088 m. And even further east I could make out Mount Raung – one of the most active volcanoes on the island of Java and standing almost 3332 m above sea level – in the orange morning glow.
To the south we had a magnificent view over Mount Bromo below … The Tengger Caldera was an active somma volcano – a volcanic caldera that had been partially filled by a new central cone – and part of the Tengger Mountains. This caldera had a diameter of approx 16 km and was some 110 m deep. At 2329 m the active cone of Mount Bromo was not the highest peak within that caldera, but the most famous and the only active one. Cemoro Lawang was basically located on the rim of the original caldera. Mount Bromo was located in the middle of a plain called the Sea of Sand, a nature reserve of lava sand that had been protected since 1919. Mount Batok was the inactive 2440 m high cinder cone located just west of the smaller Mount Bromo – the very prominent cone on the right of the steaming Mount Bromo as seen from above.
Sunrise looks spectacular in nature;
Sunrise looks spectacular in the photos;
Sunrise looks spectacular in our dreams;
Sunrise looks spectacular in the paintings,
because it really is spectacular!
Mehmet Murat Ildan
I would have loved to see Mount Semeru – with 3676 m the highest mountain on Java – in the distance. It should have been well visible … My sister messaged me a photo of the photo album of her visit here a few years back with Mount Semeru clearly in sight and puffing a smoky cloud every 10 min or so. The postcards I bought later also showed the same … Today there were clouds hovering between Bromo and Semeru and I could only make out … if concentrated on watching … and when I inspected my photos … that Semeru indeed was puffing smoke still … it was sometimes possible to make it out when it reflected the morning sun … The name Semeru was derived from Meru – the central world mountain in Hinduism – or Sumeru – the abode of gods. This stratovolcano – also known as The Great Mountain – had an extensive eruptive history. Since 1818, at least 55 eruptions had been recorded consisting of both lava flows and pyroclastic flows. Semeru had been in a state of near-constant eruption from 1967 to the present. The most recent notable eruptions occurred on 04.12.2021 when at least 51 people died and thousands were displaced and then again a few days ago coincidentally on 04.12.2022.
I took so many photos of the different stages of sunrise and the ever changing cloud formations in the maybe 30 min we spent on the view point. It was so beautiful to watch. Everybody up there was mesmerized by it and I believe millions of selfies were being taken … Even our guide Murung took photos – he was an avid photographer with a proper camera as well.
The sunrise, of course,
doesn’t care if we watch it or not.
It will keep on being beautiful,
even if no one bothers to look at it.
Gena Amole
A the sun rose higher and it got lighter the full extent of the Bromo Caldera with the Sea of Sand and Cemoro Lawang on the rim of the caldera became clear. It was breathtaking to say the least. The vast expansion and extraordinary beauty of it were amazing. I could not get enough of it … Only for that view it had been worth coming here!
It was time to leave the view point … a last look at Mount Bromo from up here confirmed its full splendor … its crater was blowing white sulfuric smoke continuously … Most tourist were leaving now. Along the path back to the parking we saw several sellers offering bouquets of dried flowers … Could it be Edelweiss? … I had to take an extra closer look … indeed they were dried Edelweiss! … I was shocked as I knew Leontopodium Nivale – commonly called Edelweiss or Alpen-Edelweiss – was a national symbol, especially of Romania, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland and Italy and was specifically protected by law. Those dried flowers looked similar, but much smaller … they were however Anaphalis Javanica – the Javanese Edelweiss – a species endemic to Indonesia found mostly in mountainous regions of Java, southern Sumatra, southern Sulawesi and Lombok.
At the end of the trail near the road and the parking we stopped for a tea break. Several snack stalls lined the path here … they strongly reminded me of the tea stalls when trekking in the higher altitudes of Nepal … higher than we were here now … but temperature wise it was probably close … It was approx 05:45 by now and still very fresh … I had never taken my gloves and woolly hat out, but the mostly Asian tourists up here – we only met a very few Westerners – were all decked out in proper winter attire … and so were the tea stalls offering hot drinks and warm food … We had Coffee and quite good Fried Banana. While there I finally found the postcards I had been looking for since arriving in Indonesia … I bought several for IDR 15 000 each … € 1 each … stamps were not available, of course. I would have to find a post office somewhere.
The roadside was lined with numerous jeeps – all of them Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 – an iconic truck of Indonesia and The Phillipines produced by Toyota between 1960 to 2001 and designed specifically for the rugged terrain in these areas. All of the tours went usually to King Kong Hill or another viewpoint nearby for sunrise and then down to hike up Mount Bromo after. Like clockwork after sunrise they all made the transition to Mount Bromo for the hike … quickly vacating King Kong Hill. Somehow we were lucky that it was not too busy today … I think … our jeep was waiting for us close to the trail head.
While the driver turned around as we were going to go down the road towards the Sea of Sand, we had a moment to admire the view towards the west from the roadside. There were great views of the 3339 m high Mount Arjuno-Welirang – a twin stratovolcano – and the 2552 m high Mount Kawi – as well a stratovolcano with no historical record of its eruptions. Delighted I was to spot a blooming Digitalis Purpurea – Foxglove – by the road side … I had not expected it here, but the climate up here well above 2000 m of altitude would be probably perfect for it and very similar to the European conditions.
The drive down into the caldera and the Sea of Sand took another 30 min. There was a desert-like expanse around Mont Bromo as far as the eye could see. The local Tenggerese – an ethnic minority of more than 600 000 people, whose villages dotted Eastern Java – called it Lautan Pasir – Sea of Sand.
There was a long line of coffee stalls near the designated jeep parking area – I had noticed it before from up on the view point. The arriving jeeps were greeted already from afar by horse riders. It was a common way for tourists to reach the foot of the Bromo Crater on horseback and of course the horse people wanted to make some business by luring us to choose their horses. But the horses looked really sad … and were only taking the tourists to the foot of the crater … not up to the rim … and from the parking to the foot of the carter it was a roughly 1 km walk straight forward …
Walking on the grey lava sand was not hard as the rain of the last days had kind of solidified it mostly … and it was flat until we reached the crater … There were many tourist en route … some on horseback, some on foot … we met no other westerners, but many Asians. It was an easy walk and I had to shed the jumper soon after we started, because despite it being only about 06:45 by now, the sun was already rising higher and the sky was blue … it was getting warmer within the caldera.
All along I had the Bromo crater rim in sight … The name Bromo came from the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation. I was getting more and more excited as we drew closer. Hiking an active volcano was a special experience. I knew it would not been as spectacular as watching the fresh lava flow on Fagradalsfjall in Iceland last year … but Mount Bromo was active and the hike was considered one of the easiest active volcano hikes in Indonesia, that allows to see – and hear! – the rumbling earth in the center of the crater. So I was motivated for sure! Close to the foot of the crater the trail started to climb.
The going through the volcanic sand was getting slightly harder. But the staircase leading up to the rim was already within reach! The horses stopped here already and there was a platform with a couple of snack stalls. We took a break here and admired the view over the Sea of Sand below towards the sunrise view point on the opposite side of the rim.
Again there was a stall where they sold all kinds of dried flowers to be offered … People were supposed to leave those dried flowers on the crater rim and offer a prayer to please the gods of the mountain. By now I had learnt that a mature plant of Anaphalis Javanica – Javanese Edelweiss – could reach 8 m in height … The flowers were known as Eternity and the plant was indeed protected here as well. Nevertheless the amount of wild Edelweiss blooms in the Bromo area was decreasing as well … Nowadays there were farmers in altitudes of about 1000 m above sea level who cultivated Javanese Edelweiss made from seeds to be sold to the tourists. I did not buy any, though … buying Edelweiss was nevertheless appalling to me …
The last bit to reach the crater rim was the very steep staircase … some 250 steps to conquer … different sources stated it to be anything between 241 and 253 … I did not count them … I was too occupied catching my breath … It was not too busy here yet. I could imagine in high season this staircase would be something of a bottleneck … At the moment it was relatively early and the few people climbing up were not getting in each other’s way. I was really huffing and puffing going up … The steps were really high and it was steep. But I made it without too many breaks. I was soooo out of form … and I was getting old … But by 07:00 I reached the top of the Bromo Crater rim!
Mount Bromo was an active volcano and the area was basically constantly placed in a state of alert. It emitted smoke continuously and it rumbled all the time! The volcano buff in me was absolutely delighted! Murung said in his experience it erupted significantly every 4 years … The last time was in 2019 when it was in an eruptive phase from March to July and emitted ash columns of several hundreds to up to 4000 m high with consequential ash fall recorded in the region. There had been mostly only smoke, ash and pyroclastics, but no visible lava. In such alert times access to the rim was restricted, which meant noone was allowed within a radius – depending on the level of eruption – of 1 km or more around the crater. If Murung was correct in his assumption, then in 2023 there would be another eruption. Maybe he would be right …
Since 1767, more than 60 such eruptive phases of Mount Bromo had been recorded. Most eruptions had been strombolian and occasionally had volcanic or phreatic characteristics. I was lucky that even with the Semeru eruption relatively close by there had been no restriction placed on Mount Bromo. In fact, Murung was just making a little video message for the tour company to calm customers who were supposed to come in the next few days and were worried about the current situation … However, an active volcano was an active volcano … the situation could change rapidly … I was just so excited to actually look into the active crater from up close …
The view from the rim into the abyss of the crater was an awe-inspiring sight. Standing above the steaming volcanic crater with just a short concrete wall as the only barricade before the smoking darkness below – the veritable gates of hell redolent with sulphur vapours – I could feel the power of the magnificent mountain. Below was a smouldering mass of ash-gray steam and gases … contributing to the excitement was the noise … There was a constant roar emanating from deep inside the Earth that was truly amazing … it reminded me strongly of the fiery dragon in Iceland …
A small altar with a statue of Lord Ganesha had been placed right at the Bromo Crater rim where the stairs reached it. Some people left offerings in form of dried Javanese Edelweiss or food there to please the gods and many rituals and ceremonies were linked to the mighty volcano. The most significant ceremony was held on the 14th day of of the Kasada Month in the traditional Tengger calendar – the month-long Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada. On that day – usually every year some time in June or July – hundreds of Hindu Tenggerese people made their pilgrimage to the crater and in one of the world’s most outlandish rituals of material sacrifice, worshipers hurled their worldly possessions – fruits, vegetables, money … also livestock like chicken or goats symbolizing human sacrifice – into the mouth of the volcano in an effort to free the community of disease and natural disasters. Some rather opportunistic villagers did not buy into the ritual, however. Instead of tossing in their possessions, these villagers actually entered the volcano in an attempt to cash in and attempted to collect their share of the offerings not only for their economic value, but also because many of them believed anything they can catch would bring them good luck. Noone really knew what percentage of the offerings villagers actually intercepted and what ended up in the mouth of the volcano. This ritual would be interesting to watch, but recently it had been held exclusively for worshippers, tourists had only been allowed as far as Cemoro Lawang.
Remind me that the most fertile lands
were built by the fires of volcanoes.
Andrea Gibson in The Madness Vase
We stayed a good 30 min up on the crater rim. It was getting nicely warm up there now with the rising sun, but the wind was still fresh. Nevertheless I loved it up there. It was absolutely marvelous … I could not get enough of staring into the maw of the monster … it was some kind of magical … I mean … I was looking right into an active volcano … While in Iceland I had seen the eruption and the hot, new lava flow … this was entirely different … and that rumble … was … crazy ….
The views over the Tengger Caldera below were fantastic to say the least. In the middle of the Sea of Sand I could clearly make out Luhur Poten Temple – Pura Luhur Poten – which was one of the holiest temples for the Tenggernese people. Unfortunately, we did not visit the temple after we descended Mount Bromo, but it was said that it looked more picturesque from above than it actually was …
Descending the stairs was easier … of course … more people had arrived by now and it was busier than when coming up. But the views going down … I stopped several times to admire those views … when walking I had to concentrate on the stairs …. the steps were really high and it was busy, so it was better to stop taking photos instead of doing it on the go … the views were beautiful.
At the end of the stairs the horses waited for tourist riders again. They were decked out to impress the customers, but they still looked sad and too small to carry tourists up this mountain. Then again … they were earning their livelihood and that of their keepers as well … the usual dilemma … But they made for a nice photo opportunity as I walked past.
Many people were coming up the path now. Surprisingly, there were many student classes on a school day out. Everybody … literally everybody … wanted a photo with Pawel now! I guess a group photo or selfie with a good looking white boy made for a great ista or facebook post … or just to brag to friends and family. I acted as the designated photographer several times and I had to admit … when walking and passing a group of those college students and the girls or boys were obviously in bits about the westerner and giggling not daring to ask … I more than once prompted them by saying – Photo?! – and had a field day watching the resulting photo session afterwards … We took twice as long for the way back to the jeeps because of all the photo requests … Even our guide Murung had a laugh …
The drive back to the village was quick. All the jeeps seemed to return from Mount Bromo at the same time. It was a real jeep traffic jam through Cemoro Lawang village. It was also the first time I saw the peaceful village in day time since we arrived last night in the dark and left this morning in the dark. It looked rather colourful and quaint. Most of the locals had wrapped themselves in poncho-like sarongs against the mountain cold in the morning.
We stopped at Kusama Kitchen Café for breakfast of course. Today we sat outside in the sun. We had preordered Banana Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce. I had to take my mandatory photo when the food arrived … and I had to laugh … Pawel was taking photos of it as well … So we both sat there taking photos before we actually ate … It was so funny … We had done the same last night at dinner as well … Taking food photos had become a thing … a common … disease … But the pancakes were very good. Like big fluffy pancakes … looking more like donuts … They were so filling, I could only finish one of them.
By 08:45 we were back in the guesthouse and we had a little break until departure 09:30. I finished packing … there was not much, but a little adjustment to the warm coast we would be driving along today. After I had taken a few photos of the beautifully trimmed vegetable gardens around the guesthouse and looked at the pretty guest house setting in the sun – it had a beautiful view over the valley from the porch – I took a little 20 min powernap.
From Cemoro Lawang to Banyuwangi by car – ca. 250 km
Right on time 09:30 Ali was ready with the van to drive Pawel and me down the mountains again. The next part of this adventure was waiting for us – a long day of driving and back tracking eastwards, then a short night before visiting Kawah Ijen Volcano. For the first part of the road I was ready with the camera, because it was the part we saw yesterday only in the dark … so basically we saw nothing … that was so different now.
The road was descending through Cemoro Lawang and continued into Ngadisari Village. The vistas were so beautiful. Morning clouds still hung over the mountains above and gave the landscape a mystical feel. Neatly tilled vegetable fields covered the hills topped with small farm houses in the lush green surroundings.
Joy in looking and comprehending
is nature’s most beautiful gift.
Albert Einstein
It was not long until we reached the outskirts of Propolinggo again. The terrain had flatened out and traffic changed to more citylike. We passed mosques of course and I spotted that – for me interesting – street sign I had already noticed before … First I had not been sure what that could possibly mean … of course, it was obvious after a closer look … it was marking a school zone along the road! Duh! How could I have not thought about that before … why else would Einstein’s theory of relativity adorn a street sign otherwise …
From Propolinggo we took the same road back east as we took yesterday to come west along the coast. I bugged Ali to stop for a Coconut somewhere, but he kept putting me off … Well, not exactly. He just kept saying he knew a place for the best Coconuts and I should wait … So eventually he did stop by the side of the road … it turned out we met his friend there again to swap the van as we did yesterday. Apparently it had been repaired and now he could drive his van back east. We had to move all out stuff once more. It was no problem as they were identical. And the place was well chosen by Ali as well – there was a snack stall where they sold Cococunts and a beautiful view over the rice fields. That Coconut was IDR 9000 and it was huge and it was soooo good!
I took my regular naps en route. But by 12:00 we stopped again … this time for Lunch. It was a different place than yesterday – Café Jongkok – and we decided to sit in the garden. It was shaded, so it was not too hot. Once more we were asked to order off the menu anything we wanted. I preferred that to a set menu, to be honest. I ordered Grilled Fish and Guava Juice which was all very good. And since we felt adventurous we ordered a plate of Hot and Sour Chicken Feet to share. Those were actually not bad at all either … there was not much on those Chicken Feet, but the seasoning was tasty. We finished them all.
The afternoon was spent driving … and for me that meant I was taking my afternoon nap … There was a lot of traffic as well. The few times I woke up I enjoyed the scenery. Passing the forested lowlands of Baluran National Park situated at the north-eastern extremity of Java, I spotted some monkeys on the roadside. This time I was quicker with the camera, but still we drove too fast for a clear photo. But I was sure those were Crab-Eating Macaques – Macaca Fascicularis – also known as Long-Tailed Macaque, a primate native to Southeast Asia with a long history alongside humans.
From there it was not long until the road reached the eastern coast and we had a great view over the Bali Strait towards the island of Bali in the distance. We passed Ketapang and the ferry port and another 20 km further reached our Guesthouse Osing Syariah in Banyuwangi around 17:00. It was a nicer place than last night with a garden setting. My room even had a porch and there was a pool as well. The only drawback was the mosque right behind the premises … it was prayer time. But I was not bothered too much since it would be a very short night and we would leave long before the morning prayers.
I directly went for a walk in search of a minimarket since I had to get some supplies for tomorrow’s long day. The guesthouse was not in the very center of Banyuwangi which was the administrative capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java and had a population of approx 120 000. The name meant Fragrant Water after a mythical river. The city was the main gateway to visits to the Ijen Plateau which was our destination tomorrow morning. I found a minimarket quickly and bought some icetea and guava juice packs as well as some small bodylotion to sooth my sunburned and now peeling arms … the aftermath of scootering Timor Leste … At a street stall I bought a bag of Longan Fruits for IDR 37 000 as well. Unfortunately I did not find a beer shop anywhere … I was not looking too closely, though, because I knew it might be complicated and hoped for dinner.
Having had a short break afterwards in the guesthouse, I was ready at 18:00 when Ali picked us up for dinner. It was a maybe 15 min drive up into the hills to a residential area where they had a company house catering for the tour groups. In fact, it was Ali’s wife who was cooking dinner for us. It was served on the porch in the garden of the house and was very good as well. We had Vegetables, Fried Noodles and Chicken Satays with spicy Sambal Sauce. There was Watermelon for dessert … but no beer …
Pawel and me chatted over dinner and when Ali asked us if we would want to wait until the other group joining us from Bali for tomorrow would arrive here – he said it would be in about half an hour … maybe Indonesian half an hour … – we both decided we rather return to the guesthouse and rest. He had already given us the run down for tomorrow … departure from the guesthouse in the morning was 01:00 … In the morning! … fully packed … Do not leave anything behind! … Oh well … it was not as if I had not known this before …
On the way back to the guesthouse I was bugging Ali to stop somewhere for beer, but he said there was none … maybe in the guesthouse, he said. We were back at the guesthouse shortly after 19:00 and there he talked to the guy who then had another guy with a motorbike ready who I had to hand IDR 80 000 for 2 Bintang Beer which he would get and bring to my room … and it was not much more than 5 min later when the knock on my door announced his arrival with 2 big bottles! Yeah!
I can assure you I did not drink both of them! But one went down nicely while I got organized for the next day. In the morning we would trek to Kawah Ijen to see the Blue Fire of the volcano and then I would have to catch my train to Yogyakarta which would be a good 12 hrs ride … I did shower before sleep and caught up with posting photos before sleep … I knew sleep would be a short interlude tonight …
08.12.2022
Climbing Kawah Ijen to see the Blue Fire
The day started very early … in the middle of the night! My alarm rang at 00:30 … I was already more or less packed and only had to put the last bits in. I had shuffled everything around, so that I did not have to take as much on this morning’s adventure … but would not have to repack before getting on the train later either … and I wanted to trek as light as possible up the mountain …
By 01:00 I was all set and met the others in the courtyard. There were Pawel and me again, but also 4 other people who had come from Bali last night and were only doing the Iljen tour this morning. We had a woman guide accompanying us to the Geopark. The drive was just under 1 hr along a narrow and very dark country road through forest as it seemed to the west.
Mount Ijen Geopark was one of the national geoparks in Indonesia and being proposed as a UNESCO Geopark. It comprised 21 geosites – especially the most acidic turquoise lake in the world and the Iljen Blue Fire. Both we were going to visit this morning. In addition, there were other geosites, namely the karst geoforest, which showed the growth of coral reefs 16 mio years ago that were later lifted into a karst landscape and became a unique phenomenon among volcanic rocks, as well as ancient volcano geoforest presenting the existence of ancient volcanoes millions of years older than the known ancient volcano.
We arrived at the head of the trail in Paltuding just before 02:00 and got kitted out with gas masks. A gas mask was required in the crater of Ijen when going anywhere near the Sulfur – and I sure intended to do so. Today I would not just go up on the rim of an active volcano but descend into the crater … The Sulfur levels could be extremely high, especially down near the lake where the main deposits were located. In fact, they said, even on the crater rim there were a couple of spots that called for a mask due to the prevailing wind blowing the Sulfur across the track. But we did not need them just yet – I simply stashed it away in my bag and forgot about it until we were told to get them ready. Some of the others needed torches, jackets or wooly hats … I was all set and prepared already. I had put one layer less than yesterday to Mount Bromo, but I did not forget hat and gloves. First thing I did was prepare my hiking poles – I was sure I would need them today.
There were many … many other people heading up the trail at the same time. Our guide Hari said that it was low season and usually not so busy, but today it was. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the Sulfur miners were not working tomorrow? Probably not … Or it was because it was full moon? … Maybe … We would never know … In high season it would be even busier … Hari had also our tickets and permits ready and we did not have to do anything. The ranger station at the entrance gate was at approx 1800 m above sea level.
Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
J.K. Rowling
The hike uphill started out casually – but we needed a torch to light up the path. It was pitch black dark! I had brought my head lamp and stuck it over my wooly hat. Additionally I also had a torch with me, just in case. After a few minutes I decided I was already getting too hot and took my hat off … only a minute or 2 later I realized I had ripped the head lamp off as well … it was not in my bag with the hat … damn … I went back a few meters checking … nothing … gone … By now I had lost my group and had to hurry along … I saw Pawel’s backpack ahead … Hari had missed me just when I caught up with them – I lost my head lamp! It fell off! – Why? On the path? – Yes, I looked and did not find it … I was upset … But just in that moment another group walked past us and heard me and luckily that one guy had picked up my lamp and handed it back to me … Terima kasih! Thank you! … I was ready to continue.
The track itself was almost 4 km long and already after the first few hundred meters, the incline really began to ramp up … The path was relatively wide, but it was shared not only by hikers but also by porters pushing some sort of wheelbarrows-cum-wheelchair with inflatable wheels to transport tourists up the mountain. They allowed the tourist to sit back with their feet up while 3 locals pushed and pulled them to the summit. From the start of the steep part of the trail we had heard them shout out … Taxi! Taxi! … Basically, the Ijen Taxi had apparently been once donated by a local foreigner from Bali who wanted to open the mountain up to those that could not handle the rigors of the climb to the summit and therefore donated 200 of such trolleys. Some seemingly Chinese – or Asian in general – tourists hired them and were pushed up the steep path. I was going to make it all on my own! No way was I going on one of those!
The climb became harder and harder … the path was really steep. I let my group go ahead and took my time. Hari often stayed with me. The others would wait ahead at the next rest stop. There were several of those along the way. They were well spaced out … but I had to stop to catch my breath more often than that. However, there was plenty of space to move off to the side and be out of the way of others to do so. The path climbed very steep and I was huffing and puffing big time as we got higher and higher. My wheezing got really bad at points … Hari wanted to give me his emergency oxygen from a spray bottle, but I declined. It was not that bad. Although, I was probably going still too fast … I should slow down … Hiking alone was always easier for me than trying to keep up with others … but also I pushed myself … I needed to make it up there in time to not miss seeing the Blue Fire which would become invisible with the rising sun.
On each of the rest stops or sometimes in between I would catch up with the group – they were all young and fit kids in their early twenties … I kept telling them and Hari to go ahead, but they would not have it. And seeing that we were still surrounded by the same other people who we had seen at the start of the hike, I was not too slow and we were still in good timing.
At some point Hari announced we had sort of reached the three quarter point of the climb and that the worst was behind us by now. It would be only 400m or so more to climb and then it would even out. From there, the path changed to somewhat of a natural stairway that wound back and forth up the slope, before it finally evened out to just a casual almost flat stroll the rest of the way to the crater rim. As soon as I did not have to climb anymore I was fine again and kept up with the group without problems. Hari acted surprised … Oh, you are already here! … Yes! It had just been the steep part that had gotten to old me. And did I need to mention that through this entire ordeal I did not have the energy or inspiration to take any photos? … It was still pitch black dark anyway …
We reached the crater rim at approx 2400 m above sea level and smelled some Sulfur for the first time at approx 03:50. The Merapi Ijen Volcano Complex was a group of composite volcanoes. It was located inside an eponymous larger caldera Ijen of approx 20 km width. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano was wit 2769 m the highest point of that complex. West of Gunung Merapi was the Ijen Volcano, which we were about to visit. First we had to take a break, though. We could only see a string of lights moving down into the crater. Hari made us put our gas mask prepared around our necks now and put gloves on to protect the hands from the Sulfur steam. I had already put my wooly hat on – the wind up here was very fresh.
We also had received detailed information on what to bring and not to bring on this trek when booking the tour. As I knew from bathing in the hot springs in Iceland, I had removed all my silver jewelry because they would turn black with the contact of sulfuric gas. I had left the big camera in the car, mainly because I had expected the strenuous hike and did not want to carry more than necessary. The mobile phone, small camera and GoPro would have to do … Pawel in the meantime took some photos looking into the dark crater and his fancy mobile phone actually saw the crater lake in the full moon light before we did … even he was surprised that his phone could do this magic …
He also took a photo towards the southwest to where we had come from and the camera even caught the view towards the other volcano cones which were most probably Gunung Ranti, Gunung Waut Gampit and the mighty Gunung Raung in the distance. With the bare eye those were still not really visible … but the fancy iPhone did it …
The group got ready to go down into the crater now … Hari asked if I wanted to go as well … Are you kidding me? Of course I will go as well! I came to see the Blue Fire! … Not for a second did I think of giving up at this point. I was determined to see the Blue Fire! I could do it! The volcano buff in me was totally excited! I had mindfully blended out the fact that now we would descent into the actually crater … and what was going down had to come back up again … but I was ready!
A very steep track down into the crater to the Sulfur vents and highly acidic lake started right by the rim. The descent took approx 30 min – all in all we tried to go down as quick as possible – and I was really grateful I had brought my hiking poles! I did not want to miss seeing the Blue Fire. The full moon was slowly setting behind the volcano. But still it was dark … and in the far distance below I could catch a first glimpse of blue flames … excitement started to kick in even more …
There was somewhat of a traffic jam going down in the surreal surroundings. An seemingly endless line of tourists was headed down, while a few were already on the way back up to catch the sunrise on the rim. Every now and then we had to step aside to give way to porters carrying their heavy Sulfur loads up the same track as well … it was the only trail … and essentially it was their trail …
Getting closer to the lake and the Sulfur mine we were told to put the gas mask on. It was a good thing. The acidy smell was getting stronger as we neared the steamy area. So many tourists were crowding the small platform in front of the small area of Blue Fire this morning. I suppose this being a natural phenomenon there would be bigger or smaller patches of it as the conditions changed, maybe there was more hidden behind the steam … but I was happy with this relatively big Blue Fire … it was so exciting …I saw it!
The Blue Fire of the Ijen volcano was something very special! But even if it looked like Blue Lava, in reality it was not magma flowing down from the slopes of the volcano, but 538°C hot Sulfur – an electric-blue fire that burned when Sulfur combusted producing a neon-blue flame. Sulfur burned when it came into contact with hot air at temperatures above 360 °C escaping to the surface and igniting immediately. Some of the burning gas then condensed into liquid Sulfur, which was then flowing down the mountain as a blue-burning liquid … The Blue Fire! Actual lava would be red-orange in color, given its temperature.
Here at Indonesia’s Kawah Ijen Volcano which had some of the highest levels of Sulfur in the world, occurred the most famous of these Blue Fire. Due to the occurrence of those flames, Kawah Ijen had also been nicknamed Blue Volcano. The crater here was the world’s largest blue flame area. Kawah Ijen had large amounts of Sulfur deposits and fumaroles and the high temperatures from the underground volcanic heat frequently combusted the Sulfur on the surface of the volcano. When Sulfur from within a volcano breached the surface, it could reach temperatures up to 600 °C and the sulfur immediately encountered lower temperatures and pressures at the surface, which caused it to immediately ignite and erupt blue flames up to 5 m into the air.
At such high temperatures, the Sulfur melted, which sometimes would flow down the face of the volcano while carrying the flames with it, making it appear as if blue lava was flowing down the volcano. Due to the blue color of the flames, the fires were essentially visible only at nighttime, as they were otherwise indistinguishable during the daytime. Another location in which Blue Fire was regularly seen was on Dallol Volcano in Ethiopia. A cerulean eruption took regularly place in the Danakil Depression, a low-lying plain in the highlands of the Afar region near the Ethiopian borders to Eritrea and Djibouti. The heat of magma sometimes ignited the Sulfur dust in the soil there, forming flames of electric blue.
Here it was absolutely mesmerizing to watch the blue flames. I was so transfixed that I forgot to actually take a video of it until the last moment. Taking photos was complicated as well – mostly due to the amount of people trying to take selfies … as I did … but also because of the ever dancing flames. And around us it was still dark … I had to be alert to Sulfur fumes emitting from the vents all the time as these made breathing difficult even with the gas mask and especially when the winds changed direction and the acidy steam hit my face … it burned in the eyes like hell as well …
To the locals, it was however the Sulfur within the depths of Ijen – known as the Devil’s Gold – that provided its true value. The Sulfur that created the blue flames was also at the centre of a thriving – and back-breaking – industry. It was a valuable commodity, used in a range of goods and processes. Sulfur extraction here was under the responsibility of a mining company that employed its workers under the status of employees and marketed its product primarily to the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. The high levels of Sulfur on Kawah Ijen meant that Sulfur was very easy to come by. It was highly concentrated. The 300 or so employees working here were divided into 2 main categories – the miners and the porters. The miners – roughly 25 to 30 individuals – were in charge of creating and extracting the Sulfur from the vapors that emanate from deep underground. They worked in 15-day periods – 15 days of labor and 15 days of rest. For every 15 days spent in the crater, a miner received a fixed salary of approx € 120 – about 1.5 times the average monthly wage in East Java.
The molten Sulfur was tapped from inside the rock using metal pipes that brought it to the surface where it cooled into a hard, yellow solid mass. The miners called this Devil’s Gold partly because of its colour but also because it was their source of income. Ijen was one of only a few places in the world where Sulfur mining was still done by hand. The men broke apart the solidified sulfur, hacked it into lumps the size of small boulders, then collected it in wicker baskets.
We had spent maybe 15 min on the bottom of the crater with the Blue Fire and the miners. Before starting the return hike up the crater wall, I bought some Sulfur souvenirs from one of the miners. They had small naturally formed chunks of Sulfur, but also molded liquid Sulfur into forms. They wanted IDR 20 000 per piece regardless of its size. So I took 2 big turtle shaped pieces and a small one and he gave it to me for IDR 50 000. A nice side income for them since several tourists bought some of the souvenir pieces. I liked them, because they were for sure not made in China …
By now it got slowly but surely lighter. Of course we would not make it back up the rim to watch the sunrise – but I am sure that had not been our intention anyway. Probably it was either seeing the Blue Fire in the crater or the sunrise on the rim … starting even earlier and going faster as to be back up at the rim for sunrise would have been the solution. In anycase – today I think the sunrise was not as spectacular as yesterday at Mount Bromo. For now I still marveled at the Blue Fire below … It was still visible … still spectacular … and there were still tourists descending to see it. I guess, I had not been the slowest hiker after all …
On the slopes were the porters – approx 250 individuals total were in the company. They first carried the extracted Sulfur to the top of the crater and then down to the base camp in Paltuding. They packed heavy loads – typically ranging from 75 to 90 kg. Wearing rubber boots or frequently sandals, they slowly but steadily ascended the winding track of the steep slope. Once out of the crater, the Sulfur chunks still needed to be carried on trolleys down the same track we used to the nearby Paltuding Valley to get paid. The porters’ salary was proportional to the number of kilograms transported – around IDR 1000 per kilogram and they made 2-3 daily trips.
If a porter worked an average of 25 days a month, his monthly salary could reach up to € 250. This seemed like meager and unacceptable compensation. But in this inhospitable region, and compared to the neighboring workers that harvest coffee in surrounding plantations and for whom an average 12-hour day only yielded a € 3 salary – and thus a salary of around € 75 monthly – it was unhoped-for and much-coveted, but was very onerous.
Slowly making my way up the steep crater track I admired at several points the incredible crater lake. Described by some geologists and mineralogists as the largest acid barrel on earth, the crater lake of Kawah Ijen was the largest sulfuric acidic lake in the world. And every day, hour after hour, large amounts of the Blue Fire were flowing into the lake, steadily increasing its acidity. The plume drifting off from the crater likely came from fumaroles, which released hot gases from underground magma. The plume could also come from hot springs and mud pots – since it was white, it was likely to be mostly steam with some volcanic gases like carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide mixed in.
Slowly the sun rose and the colours changed. We had already taken the gas masks off as we had moved higher up the crater again. It also got warmer and I took my hat off. While the others were still taking selfies I kept a steady pace trekking back up. Indeed the ascent was easier than expected and much easier than the ascent on the forest track in the night. Since it was a sort of rocky stairway, it was much better to navigate. Of course I also stopped often to take photos. The Kawah Ijen Volcano – with a record of phreatic eruptions – had its 1000 m wide crater filled with the lake existing for at least one century. The active crater had a diameter of 722 m and was approx 200 m deep. The water had a pH less than 0.3 on a scale of 0 to 14 – with 7 being neutral. For comparison – lemon juice had a pH of 2 and battery acid had a pH of 1. The incredible color of the lake was due to the acidity of the water, which was a mixture of hydrochloric and sulfuric acids and dissolved metals. The water in the lake was said to be warm with approx 37°C and depending on the volcano’s activity, it could change its color from turquoise to green and even grey … sometimes even within a day.
The tourist crowd had thinned out considerably by now. There was no traffic jam anymore. I could walk pleasantly alone most of the time apart from making space for some porters on the way up. Their loads looked even more impressive in daylight … and they did walk in rubber boots … and chain-smoked while doing so …
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle
Nevertheless I reached the rim at the same time as the group approx at 05:30. I packed the gas mask away and also took the gloves and hat off. It was still fresh this early in the morning and windy, but the sun was coming up quickly. I could not get enough of the views or take enough photos … I had been down there! Inside the crater of an active volcano! … Mindblowing …
Our guide Hari made us walk along the rim up some more for another stunning view of the lake. He kept saying, the best youwas going to be up there … so wie followed hime … It was an easy walk up the slightly sloping trail through low shrubs. The views over the crater towards the sunrise were awesome all along. It was getting warmer now with the sun rising. There wee not many people now. Not everybody was coming this way, many were already on the way to base camp again.
Of course, Hari – who had already been our designated photographer down by the Blue Fire – knew all the best photo points and had led us to one of the iconic insta-worthy photo spots up here. There was a regular line-up to take a photo with the old, but very picturesque tree and the stunningly turquoise lake below. Even I had to pose for a photo there. But to get the no-people-shot required a relatively long wait and some begging as well … but it was worth it!
Only 20 m further there was another such spot. The rim was protruding out seemingly over the crater and everybody went to the point to take a photo. Hari was very good in taking photos for all of us with our mobile phones indeed. I was lucky, though, because the wind turned and the steam quickly covered the caldera making the turquoise water disappear a few moments later …
The best view comes after the hardest climb.
Anonymous
As we started the return hike, we had to go past the main part of the rim where the trail from the crater reached it and all the Sulfur arrived from below, was packed into bags and loaded onto trolleys. The porters, who carried the Sulfur up, piled them on the rim and other workers then took over from there. At the moment everybody had their breakfast break, however.
The hike down to the entrance gate was very quick after that. In daylight I could admire the views at least. But still I had to pay attention to the path … it was unbelievably steep … Going down was easier, but still … I could not believe it was that steep and that earlier on I had managed to get up here. It had been well worth it, though. Another difference now was that we were literally alone on the trail … nobody was coming up and we did not meet many going down … It was really getting hot now, but I did not dare to take the jacket and jumper off, because I was all sweaty beneath and the wind would make me cold. So I suffered through the heat. But it was not so bad. By approx 07:25 we reached the entrance gate and our van was already waiting.
It was a 30 min drive to the breakfast spot which was the same place where we had dinner last night. I napped a little during the ride … I think everybody did … While waiting for breakfast I quickly rearranged my luggage and hung the sweaty jumper in the sun to dry. Breakfast was typical Indonesian – Rice, Fried Chicken, Red Jackfruit Curry etc and Watermelon for dessert. I was not hungry at all, only thirsty … but I had some chicken and a spoonful of rice with red curry … and lots of Watermelon.
By about 08:45 the group got split up – 4 of them including Pawel went with one van directly to Bali via ferry and I plus a German girl went with our driver Ali. They dropped me at Ketapang Train Station by 09:30 and then continued to pick up more guests at the ferry port close by to finally proceed to visit Mount Bromo tomorrow.
For me it was off to another amazing part of me discovering Indonesia …
