Mai in front of Mount Batok

While we were in in Java (Indonesia), home to the Java coffee and the now instinct java tiger, a local colleague recommended me to climb the volcanic mountains. I didn’t realise Indonesia consisted of so many islands. Volcanic mountains can be found in many places in the country.

Anyhow, lets go back to our topic of volcanoes. I decided to a hike to up Mount Bromo. There are 3 mountains within the complex – Mount Semeru, Mount Bromo and Mount Batok. Lets just say WOW! The scenery here is AMAZING and beautiful. It’s unique, I’ve never seen it anywhere before.

Mount Bromo is very picturesque. Following my lonely planet guide, one thing to do in Mount Bromo is to get there before sunrise and see the amazing sunrise. I was woken up at 3am and by 4am, I joined hundreds of people waiting for the sunrise. Unfortunately it was a very cold and cloudy morning and most and when the sun did rise is was partly or fully covered. It was  still awesome nonetheless.

If you are really interested in the local culture, the local population along Mount Bromo is called the Tengger tribe. Every year (around September or October) the tribe does a ritual called Kasodo. It is an important day as they would throw either farmed animals or things from their farms inside the crater. I was told it was worth experiencing.

After the climb we took a jeep around the crater edge. There is an area called ‘pasir berbisik’ which means whispering sand (I hope this is correct, from scribble handnotes). The ground has sand that whisper but the fascinating thing about this place is it looked like you were Mars .

Just a cautious of warning, I highly recommend you skip the horse ride if you have a good enough stamina to climb up .

Related posts:

1. East MacDonnell Ranges – Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
2. Fortnums Tea Room at Sassafras – Mount Dandenong Ranges
3. Uluru (Ayers Rock) Base Walk – Australian Northern Territory
4. Komodo Island – Day 3 Labuhan Bajo
5. Kakadu National Park – Nawurlandja Lookout (Nourlangie Rock)