Ijen is the perfect follow up after Mt. Bromo

If you have seen the sunrise at Mt. Bromo, the sunset at Ijen Crater is a perfect place to explore more of Java’s volcanoes. I booked a trip to Mt. Bromo and Ijen, covering two nights. The first night at Mt. Bromo is described here. This post will tell about Ijen. I guess it is possible to do these two hikes more independently, but both hikes start in relatively remote areas, with no public transport. I do not regret hiring a guide and driver; it made the trip so much easier.

Getting there

As explained in the post on Mt. Bromo, this trip is done at night. At Mt. Bromo, the main thing is to witness the spectacular sunrise. At Ijen, you will also have an excellent sunrise, but before that, you should climb down into the crater, and see the blue flames, and they have the best effect in the peach black. Ijen is also a bit more challenging for hiking. It is about a one-hour hike up to the crater edge, and for some, it can be hard. After that, you have to climb down into the crater, and that is at least thirty minutes on a rocky path.

Ijen

The Ijen volcano complex is a group of composite volcanoes. It is known for its blue fire, acidic crater lake, and labour-intensive sulfur mining.  It was designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2023. It is really the blue flames that draw people to this site. Already when you get close to the crater edge, you start to smell the acid that smells like rotten eggs. However, it is not that bad. The Ijen volcano has a one-kilometre-wide turquoise-coloured acidic crater lake.

Dayhotel

Since this was a two-night experience, one had to sleep and rest a little bit. So after we had been up on the crater on Mt. Bromo, we drove to a nice restaurant and had Brunch. It was included in the trip, and it was very tasty. After this, we moved closer to the Ijen mountain and drove for about three hours. There, they had booked a hotel in Bondowoso, and here I could sleep and rest until 23:00 and then be ready for a new night expedition.

Bottleneck

After a short break and a tea in the night restaurant, we started the hike up to the crater around four o’clock. The hike up went fine, but it is a lot of uphill, and many were suffering. Then, on top, it was the way down, and that was harder; you needed a headlight, and the path was narrow and rocky. Since I was pretty early there, we managed to take some pictures and started back up. Almost at the top, it was so narrow that two people could not meet. And there was no end to how many wanted to go down. My guide and I sat down and waited for a while, but people kept coming upwards, so it became a little scary with too many people in one place. But at last we got the people on top to stop so that a big group could climb up.

The blue flame

The electric-blue flame of Ijen is ignited by sulfuric gas, which emerges from cracks at temperatures up to 600 °C. The flames can be up to five meters high. The lake is recognised as the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world. The smell, combined with the discomfort from the gas, makes it recommended to wear a gas mask down in the crater. It was extraordinary to see the blue flame somehow flow down the rocks. Changing pattern constantly.

All the time that we were hiking up and down. We met local men carrying big baskets of sulfur. I do not know what they use this sulfur for, but some of the guys had made small figures out of it, which they sold at the top. They didn’t use any masks, so I guess their health will suffer over time.

Finally, at the top, it was still about one hour before sunrise, but when it appeared, it was nice, but it could not compare to the previous night by Mt. Bromo. Then, it was time for the way down to the car again, and the nature and surroundings obviously became visible to us, and it was stunning.

Finale on Java

The guys now drove me to the harbour, where I could catch the ferry over to Bali. After two weeks of travelling across this large island, I had arrived at the eastern side, and I was full of new and memorable impressions. It had been some fantastic days.