Gunung (Mt.) Bromo
Guide books toss around a common set of adjectives about Mt. Bromo - lunaresque, otherworldly, supernatural, dramatic, end of the world. The small volcano is relatively small in comparison to Indonesia's other volcanoes (only 2392m) but it looms out of the ancient, 10km wide Tengger caldera along with 2 of its brothers, Kursi and Batok. Bromo is the stand out because of its steaming cone set in a sea of volcanic sand. To top it all off, Gunung (Mt.) Semeru (Java's 
highest peak at 3676m) watches over the three from behind. Naturally, I'd be attracted to a landscape such as that, and I joined a tour that would take me from Yogjakarta to Mt. Bromo.
The road was long, but I was lucky and had the whole back seat to myself for some quality nap time. We arrived at the town of Cemoro Lawang, which is the nearest town to the caldera, just in time for dinner and to check in to our accommodation. I ate with a lovely Dutch couple and then said good night - after all, we had a 4am wake up call to ascend.
Moments later, we were awoken to load into 4WDs for a ride to the nearby peak of Gunung Penanjakan, which has the best views of the caldera. The road was very windy and I had to concentrate on my stomach a few times! The 4WDs took us as far as they could and then dropped us off at a trail that would take us 15-20 minutes. This is also where the local Tenggerese men were waiting with their horses to offer rides. I enjoyed the hike, but many older tourists or Asian tourists took the ride. I don't get why, but westerners always walk and Asians always ride!
For the next hour, I watched as the landscape slowly woke up, and the sun traveled across the caldera creating changing vistas with each new hue. There were at least 40 tourists watching, and 20 locals selling beverages and snacks. After taking approximately 76 pictures of slightly different pictures, I hoped for the best and then headed back down the path to the jeep. We were then driven to down to the crater wall of Mt. Bromo.
I walked across the Laotian Pasir (plain) to the base of Bromo. It felt like a desert of ash, an entirely gray landscape dotted with random trailing footprints and Tenggerese horses, who of course were "cheap cheap!" At the base of the volcano were 253 steps, but they were almost entirely covered in ash, so it was a difficult trudge up the sliding ash. I stopped at the top of the crater lip and stared down into the puffing innards of the volcano. It was eeril
y beautiful and it was so cool to watch the wind shift the sulfur cloud around the different sides of the slopes, giving you either more or less perspective. There were descending footprints heading down into the volcano itself, which sparked a heated debate among the tourists on what kind of animal/man would be so daring. Apparently, once a year the Tenggerese come to Bromo for the Kasada festival and give offerings of vegetables, chickens and money into the crater. There were grand views of the entire crater from the lip as well. An interesting legend has it that the crater was dug out with half a coconut shell by an ogre smitten with love for a princess.
Eventually we had to return to Cemoro Lawang. I ate a quick breakfast, and then we were loaded back into the minivans. Time to hit up the next volcano.
highest peak at 3676m) watches over the three from behind. Naturally, I'd be attracted to a landscape such as that, and I joined a tour that would take me from Yogjakarta to Mt. Bromo.The road was long, but I was lucky and had the whole back seat to myself for some quality nap time. We arrived at the town of Cemoro Lawang, which is the nearest town to the caldera, just in time for dinner and to check in to our accommodation. I ate with a lovely Dutch couple and then said good night - after all, we had a 4am wake up call to ascend.
Moments later, we were awoken to load into 4WDs for a ride to the nearby peak of Gunung Penanjakan, which has the best views of the caldera. The road was very windy and I had to concentrate on my stomach a few times! The 4WDs took us as far as they could and then dropped us off at a trail that would take us 15-20 minutes. This is also where the local Tenggerese men were waiting with their horses to offer rides. I enjoyed the hike, but many older tourists or Asian tourists took the ride. I don't get why, but westerners always walk and Asians always ride!
For the next hour, I watched as the landscape slowly woke up, and the sun traveled across the caldera creating changing vistas with each new hue. There were at least 40 tourists watching, and 20 locals selling beverages and snacks. After taking approximately 76 pictures of slightly different pictures, I hoped for the best and then headed back down the path to the jeep. We were then driven to down to the crater wall of Mt. Bromo.I walked across the Laotian Pasir (plain) to the base of Bromo. It felt like a desert of ash, an entirely gray landscape dotted with random trailing footprints and Tenggerese horses, who of course were "cheap cheap!" At the base of the volcano were 253 steps, but they were almost entirely covered in ash, so it was a difficult trudge up the sliding ash. I stopped at the top of the crater lip and stared down into the puffing innards of the volcano. It was eeril
y beautiful and it was so cool to watch the wind shift the sulfur cloud around the different sides of the slopes, giving you either more or less perspective. There were descending footprints heading down into the volcano itself, which sparked a heated debate among the tourists on what kind of animal/man would be so daring. Apparently, once a year the Tenggerese come to Bromo for the Kasada festival and give offerings of vegetables, chickens and money into the crater. There were grand views of the entire crater from the lip as well. An interesting legend has it that the crater was dug out with half a coconut shell by an ogre smitten with love for a princess.Eventually we had to return to Cemoro Lawang. I ate a quick breakfast, and then we were loaded back into the minivans. Time to hit up the next volcano.
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