Mt.Bromo

From Mount Bromo

East Java contains many volcanoes, some of them active, and we planned to visit two of them on this trip. Mt Bromo is an active volcano in the Bromo-Tengeru National Park. It is a relatively small mountain located in the Tengeru caldera, formed when the Tengeru volcano exploded several hundred years ago. We were staying in Lava View Lodge, which is a hotel that overlooks the caldera and Mt Bromo. As ever, the best time to view the volcano and surrounding mountains is of course at dawn. In this case, this entailed getting up at 3am and setting off across the caldera in a jeep, followed by a steep ascent up a largely unpaved road, to arrive at the designated hilltop viewing point in time for dawn at 5am. Once our small party arrived at the viewing area, we realised that we were not alone. The viewing spot was effectively a small village with numerous hawker stalls selling food and souvenirs to the hundreds of tourists who had driven in from the surrounding area. Needless to say, the dawn came but Mt Bromo remained resolutely shrouded in cloud the whole time, and we could se nothing. Another few hours sleep needlessly wasted!

So back down to the foot of the volcano, where our horses were waiting to take us (and anyone else willing to pay the asking price of $5 each way) to the foot of the staircase that leads up the side of the volcano. I don’t recall having ridden a horse since I was about six (which remember falling off), but although my assigned nag was several sizes too small, we seemed to get on OK to the extent that the owner allowed me to drive it myself. Once I had worked out where the steering wheel, brakes, and accelerator were, we made good progress up the path to the volcano and got to the steps without mishap. Certainly beats having to walk.

At the top of the steps I got my first view of the inside of an active volcano. No bubbling lava (that last happened in 2004) but lots of sulphurous smoke coming out of the crater. A very impressive sight indeed. After lots of photo opportunities, it as back down the steps, onto the horse, then jeep back to the hotel for breakfast at 7:30 am. The rest of the day was spent driving eastwards towards our destination for the next day’s adventure: the Igen volcano.