The Jungle Book: Gunung Bromo, August 31

Gunung Bromo: Three days, two sunrise volcano hikes

From Yogyakarta I boarded a train destined for Surabaya on the East Coast of Java. Although there isn't much to do in Surabaya, I was on my way there to get to Pulau Madura for the famous bull races on the island. Typically they begin at the end of August and beginning of September so I was there at the perfect time, so I thought. Throughout my travels in Java I asked people all about the bull races, wondering if they would still happen at the same time even though it was Ramadhan. The consensus was "yes" so I was on my way to Surabaya. The train ride was really nice, essentially 5 hours through rice paddies. Once getting there I made my way to the Tourist Information center to get more info on the bull races. As I had in the back of my mind, the races don't take place until the end of September because of Ramadhan. With this bit of information I had to seriously rearrange my plans. Instead of heading to Pulau Madura then to Flores then to Mt. Bromo, I decided to go directly to Bromo and then Flores after. It sounds like no big deal, but arranging flights and all that to Flores is not an easy task.

Once I finally got my ticket to Flores, scheduled for September 8th, I made my way via bus to Mt. Bromo (which is active and smoking). Bromo is one of three peaks that emerge from a vast caldera, the Tengger Massif (10km across) with steep walls plunging down to a vast, flat sea of lava and sand. Next to Bromo is Java's largest mountain, Gunung Semeru. There are two options of doing Bromo, either via jeep tour for Rp 90,000 ($10) or via a hike. I wasn't sure which to do, but upon meeting 4 Czech people who were hiking and thinking that I was going to be on a 11 hour bus the next night, I should do the climb and save some money.

The next morning we woke up at 3am for the first part of the hike to the viewpoint for sunrise. It was an 1.5 hour hike to the viewpoint with a bright moon and thousands upon thousands of stars out. I figured it was the 3rd best star viewing for me; number 1 being in the Serengeti and 2 the Outback. Around 4:30am we reached the viewpoint for a spectacular vista of the volcanoes and the sun coming up. It was truly an unforgettable view and I couldn't stop thinking how this trip somehow just keeps on getting better and better. I know I've said this a lot, but this must have been the most outstanding view of anything in the WORLD! It truly looked fake like a movie set or something, with the morning light perfectly hitting all the volcanoes and the fog hovering around the crater. I couldn't stop but smile and think how this might have been the greatest thing to ever happen. Mother Nature is amazing!! After the hour of euphoria at the view point, and over 100 photos, we made the two hour trek up to Bromo to look into it's steaming belly. The walk along the crater felt like I was walking on the moon, over sand and fine volcanic ash. After 257 stairs we were standing on the top of the wall of Bromo, looking down into it and trying not to inhale the giant sulfur cloud that it was spewing. The view was fantastic. As you turned your back to the volcano you could see the crater massif and the walls above.

Around 9am we headed back to the guesthouse, where I showered, had breakfast and relaxed for a few hours overlooking the massif before catching the overnight, 11 hour bus ride to Bali.