Mount Bromo + Mt IJen
- Thread starter ryanlio
- Start date
A rough itinerary will be as follows:
mt bromo _ mt ijen
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...CfW6NBIB3jMQZayasBw47pc/edit?usp=docslist_api
mt bromo _ mt ijen
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...CfW6NBIB3jMQZayasBw47pc/edit?usp=docslist_api
U pay what u spend.. I'm not an organizer.. But I will pay for the car since I'm going.. Haha.. Just need companions.. Dangerous to travel alone..
I will think per car max 4 pax for comfort..
I have been to ijen as well as bromo. If you are planning to self drive and have not driven there before, I will choose not to join this group. That plus there is no clear indication of budget or clear planning. I choose to withdraw my interest thanks.
Last edited:
I suggest to skip Ijen, considering your time constraints. Distance to travel is quite far. I presume you intend to arrive back in Surabaya on the 4th?
If you need contact for vehicle rental, let me know.
Ya thanks for suggestions itinerary still pending. I will like to check out the blue acid lake at ijen.. Seems a view to behold
.. Yah.. Please pm me the vehicle rental contact bro.. Appreciate it..Haha.. I usually have a vague plans when I travel.. No too detailed. I'm a "at the moment " person.. Haha.. I guess if I have resources on my hands.. Its really up to our time.. Ahhaaha
Trip to ijen cannot be "at the moment". You need some planning so as to get some meaningful images.
It is a 2-3 hour climb up to the top. another 30mins to 1 hour down to the sulfur harvesting location (to shoot the blue flames). Another 2-3 hour back down. Not a easy climb at all. Most of the guys got cramps or pulled something. Only 2 in our group took it in stride, and they are experienced mountaineers (with Everest full gear experience).
BTW if you want to catch the blue flames from the sulfur harvesting, you need to start scaling ijen latest 2am if you are very fit and fast. If you are not trained climbers, better start at 1am.
If you missed the timing, there will nothing much to see up there, especially with all the sulfur smoke in your faces.
Please pack masks and hiking googles if you have them. When the sulfur fumes blows your way, it can get very hard to breath and your eyes will water. and bring walking sticks if you have them. And leave most of your gear in the car waiting at the bottom of the mountain. Just take what you need.
And spend a little money and hire the guides that will approach you.
Most of the great blue flame photos you see, the photographers actually camp up near the top of ijen and shoot through the night. You need the place to be dark enough to capture it. As soon as the sunrise comes at 5:30am, the blue flames will get harder and harder to shoot, because they are not very bright. And the last "firing" of the sulfur harvest ends shortly after sunrise. After that, it is all collection, weighing.
Last edited:
As for bromo, rooms at the 2 popular hotels gets booked up very very fast. Better call ahead and make sure there are still rooms available.
You need to hire the jeep to go up to the viewpoint. Make sure you make it a point to insist on the jeep leaving the hotel area around 2:30am or before. If not, your jeep will have to park pretty low down the single lane road, making your approach to the viewpoint a good 30mins walk uphill. If that happens, by the time you get up to the viewpoint, the place will be packed.
There used to be a path that you can go down to get unobstructed views from the right side of the view point (near the antenna tower). But it has recently been fenced up. So your only choice is to climb over the fence. The sand is very loose up there so watch it. I slipped a couple of times myself. But the reward is this:
After sunrise, don't stay at the viewpoint too long. Get your shots fast. once the sun is up to a good height around 7am, leave the viewpoint fast, and back to the jeep. The jeep will send you down to the caldera. Skip the horseride or the climb up the crater. Immediately hit the Savannah (at slight extra cost) at the back of the mountain. If you get there early enough, you will be able to see the rays of lights hitting the savanna. Enjoy the savannah for 30mins and head out to Whispering Sands. Time is of the essence. Because, once the sun heats up the caldera enough, the air will start moving up and high chance of sand storm in the caldera. If sand storm happens, it is usually starts around 9am or slightly after.
Whispering sands is a must see...
Hope this helps.
BTW, it is a 7-8 hour drive from Surabaya to Bromo each way without traffic. If you hit traffic, might end up doing 10 hours. So make sure you have a backup driver and also a good GPS system.
good luck!
You need to hire the jeep to go up to the viewpoint. Make sure you make it a point to insist on the jeep leaving the hotel area around 2:30am or before. If not, your jeep will have to park pretty low down the single lane road, making your approach to the viewpoint a good 30mins walk uphill. If that happens, by the time you get up to the viewpoint, the place will be packed.
There used to be a path that you can go down to get unobstructed views from the right side of the view point (near the antenna tower). But it has recently been fenced up. So your only choice is to climb over the fence. The sand is very loose up there so watch it. I slipped a couple of times myself. But the reward is this:
After sunrise, don't stay at the viewpoint too long. Get your shots fast. once the sun is up to a good height around 7am, leave the viewpoint fast, and back to the jeep. The jeep will send you down to the caldera. Skip the horseride or the climb up the crater. Immediately hit the Savannah (at slight extra cost) at the back of the mountain. If you get there early enough, you will be able to see the rays of lights hitting the savanna. Enjoy the savannah for 30mins and head out to Whispering Sands. Time is of the essence. Because, once the sun heats up the caldera enough, the air will start moving up and high chance of sand storm in the caldera. If sand storm happens, it is usually starts around 9am or slightly after.
Whispering sands is a must see...
Hope this helps.
BTW, it is a 7-8 hour drive from Surabaya to Bromo each way without traffic. If you hit traffic, might end up doing 10 hours. So make sure you have a backup driver and also a good GPS system.
good luck!
Last edited:
Wow daredevil123. Really good info.. Back to the drawing boards..
U been there before? Seems like u r very experienced in bromo.
Been there 2 times. And I know many folks who are very familiar with indo.
Last edited:
Thank you Zig for sharing. Yes, N95 masks is the wrong mask for ijen. The mask needed for sulfur fumes is this one
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...YYgs_GR37T6RP00_N2RL3FHWVK_GPD0K8BC31gv)&rt=d
And for Bromo you went to Penanjakan #2. You remember 2 shelters there? You can walk up somemore and see a totally unobstructed view there. The difference from viewpoint 1 is that #2 is not as high up. But still very beautiful.
Last edited:
most "Regular" places can suka suka relax with no plans and still able to get great images with half luck
Not the 2 places u mentioned where the long hours and timing sequences need to be built into ..... its not some place where you casually stroll to and "hopefully" get lucky ..... been to Bromo a few times but never been to Ijen
We used to camp overnight AT the chosen spots years ago to sleep a little more and save the 1am move-outs when campfires and overnight open camping were still allowed
