MT. BROMO: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2) #Travel2Indonesia

Legend has it that there was a couple named Joko Seger and Roro Anteng. They have been married for years but were not blessed with a child. They went up to Mt. Bromo to pray to the gods for a baby. The gods answered their prayer and gave them not one but 25 kids. However, here is the catch. The gods required the couple to sacrifice their youngest child to the crater of Mt. Bromo.

The couple broke the agreement and the gods got angry. The volcano erupted and the lava was able to “snatch” their youngest child. Before dying, the youngest child requested his parents to commemorate his death by holding a ceremony in the month of the Kasada. The Tengger people call this ceremony, Yadnya Kasada,  which usually falls in the full moon some time July/August.

On an ordinary day, tourists hike up to the crater of Mt. Bromo to see its smoking crater and for some peace offering to appease the gods commemorating the legend.

Here’s part 2 of the MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater…

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON’S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food 🙂
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute’s Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

Read this first: MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)

7:26 am | It was a short 10- minute 4×4 drive from Mount Pananjakan to the sea of sand in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. There was  a lot of excitement seeing the sunrise and we were all pumped up to hike to the crater.

7:30 am | But first a mandatory restroom stop  and rehydrating with water before going up the crater.

7:33 am | There were a lot of street food stalls, but we did not have time to stop for breakfast. The sun was going up and we needed to climb the crater before it gets hotter or before it decides to erupt.

7:33 am | One of the biggest decisions you have to make: To Hike or Not to Hike?

7:37 am | Riding a horse is a convenient decision and you will be up the crater in no time.

7:38 am | We decided to hike with the boys as we needed the exercise anyway.

7:42 am | The sea of sand is surreal, it’s like a dessert and the Hindu temple in the background added to its mystery.

7:45 am | You can see the smoking crater  getting closer and food stalls continue to tease you to stop and have some breakfast. With enough water to hydrate us and adrenalin to push us further, we continued on with the hike.

7:46 am | The terrain is getting interesting and it was getting harder to walk on the sea of sand.

7:46 am | The sun is hot, the air is dusty, and your legs are aching.

7:46 am | It’s tempting to ride a horse at this point and the crater still seems far away.

7:47 am | It’s better to walk on compact grounds than letting your feet be swallowed by the sand.

7:48 am | From this point, you can already see the stairs leading to the crater.

7:51 am | We are almost halfway through the hike. It was steep but you have to keep on walking.

7:52 am | As you look back, you’ll see the Hindu Temple amid the sea of sand and hikers.

7:55 am | You can already feel that you are near and you can see the waiting horses from afar.

7:59 am | This is like the base camp with stalls and horses, before pushing for the final hike to the top.

7:59 am | To appease the volcano gods you can buy a peace offering of Javanese Edelweiss to throw to the volcanic crater.

8:01 am | The final push requires you to conquer a steep man-made stairs to the top. 

8:03 am | Be careful when you climb to the top, some of the portion of the stairs are damaged.

8:05 am | It takes around 30 minutes to reach the crater with a few rest stops.

8:06 am | Sometimes, a strong wind would blow and the sand would engulf  you . Make sure you have mask/kerchief/scarf to cover your face.

8:09 am | The Mt. Bromo crater is dangerously beautiful. First time I’ve seen the volcanic smoke up close and just thinking that this could erupt anytime makes me uneasy.

8:11 am | It was a bit crowded and it feels like one wrong move would trigger an  accident.

8:11 am | Most of the railings are damaged and the pathways around the crater are very narrow.

8:16 am | A gentle reminder:Don’t forget to look back and appreciate the breathtaking landscape  from Mt. Bromo’s side. 

8:23 am | After a brief stay at the crater, we (with Eunice Khong – @travelerfolio) we hurriedly made our way down.  

8:25 am | You have to run or walk faster when you are going down so that your knees won’t buckle and hurt.

8:26 am | Here are the cool hiking getups  from travel bloggers: Kirsten Alana – @kirstenalana and David Lee – @rtwdave of GoBackpacking.com

8:30 am | Riding a horse is the fastest way to go down. 

8:32 am | I decided to run down and complete the adventure on foot.

8:34 am | The Hindu temple is getting near and I have to quench my curiosity to see it up-close.

8:40 am | The Hindu temple is closed and off limits. It’s usually open when  a sacred ceremony is performed to cleanse the offering to the gods during the Kasada.

8:43 am | The Hindu temple gates up-close with the guardians.

8:49 am | Finally, we are back at the 4×4 and the entire hiking experience was about an hour and 30 minutes.

9:15 am | It takes about 15 minutes to go back from the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park to Java Banana Lodge.

9:24 am | Finally, to complete the experience  we  had a  yummy Indonesian breakfast at Java Banana over lively feedbacks about the sunrise experience with a refreshing  view of the mountains.

JAVA BANANA BROMO LODGE, CAFE & GALLERY
Jl. Raya Bromo , Wonotoro, Sukapura, Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia
Telephone: +62  335  541-193 or +62 852 3033-5003 or +62 21 751-0338 
Mobile: +62 819 3211-5688 
Email: booking@java-banana.com or info@java-banana.com
Website: www.java-banana.com

Mt. Bromo Sunrise Experience Costs:
4×4 rental (Rp 350,000) – Hotel to Mount Pananjakan to Mt. Bromo and back to Hotel
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Entrance Fee (Rp 50,000)

Related Articles:

• Mount Bromo : Witnessing The Fascinating Sunrise
• Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

Travel to Wonderful Indonesia Blog Series:

• KOMODO DRAGON’S Lair & the Secret Pink Beach!
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Catching the Sunrise (Part 1 of 2)
• MT. BROMO Sunrise Experience: Hiking to the Volcanic Crater (Part 2 of 2)
• YOGYAKARTA: Home of the Yummiest Indonesian Food 🙂
• BOROBUDUR Sunrise Experience (The Biggest Buddhist Temple in the World)
• BOROBUDUR NOTES: Planning your Awesome Borobudur Experience
• ORANGUTANS @ TANJUNG PUTING: Largest Population of Wild Orangutans (Day 1)
• ORANGUTANS: Dr. Birute’s Work @ Camp Leaky, Borneo (Day 2)

 For more info about #Travel2Indonesia, check out the Official Indonesia.Travel Website!

 

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If you have tips on awesome food and travel destinations, please email me at anton@diaz.ph.

Full Disclosure: I wrote this blog post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company mentioned in this post or any organization promoting it. As a policy, I don’t accept advertising from food and travel places we feature in the blog. Our trip was courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia to promote travel to Indonesia. 

P.S. Thanks to the Ministry of Tourism for the #Travel2Indonesia trip! Check out the Official Indonesia.Travel Website for more information about traveling to Indonesia 🙂

Check out our guide Abubakarinat@yahoo.com of www.JavaDiscovery.com if you need help with your Mt. Bromo Sunrise Experience 🙂