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Catching Sunrise at Mount Bromo

Posted on : 2 October 2013Categories : -

Go hiking at Mount Bromo, East Java at the mid of August is very interesting! It is quite popular among tourists both local and foreigner for its ‘easy’ hiking track. The highlights of the area are Mount Bromo (with its smoking crater), Mount Penanjakan (the favorite sunrise spot), and Cemoro Lawang (where most visitors stay). There’s also Mount Semeru, the highest mountain in Java. But it took 2 days straight to reach the top of Mount Semeru, according to some locals.

AccommodationWe reach Cemoro Lawang (the outer side of Mount Bromo area) at 11 pm and booked a room at Cafe Lava Hostel. Most people, including us, only use the room for a couple of hours since we have to start hiking at dawn – if you’re looking for the sunrise. Cafe Lava Hostel has the best location (at the edge of the crater) so you just need to walk straight into Bromo. But I don’t think it worth the amount of money we payed. It is over priced.

Sunrise from Mount Penanjakan3.15 am

We had our morning call. It was 3 am and I was too excited that I didn’t even feel sleepy anymore although I only got a 4 hours sleep. We put our jacket on along with our gloves, winter hats, pants, and shoes. Since I left my boots in Bandung, I used my running shoes instead – it slips several time. We were prepared to see the sunrise!

The sky was full of stars I could never imagine and the temperature was less than 10 degree Celsius up there. Not to waste any more time, I sat on the back seat of the Jeep heading to Mount Penanjakan. It took about half an hour to reach the parking area at Mount Penanjakan and then we walked for about 10 – 15 minutes to the top of Mount Penanjakan.

Here, at the top of Mount Penanjakan, lies a brilliant panoramic view of Mount Bromo, Mount Semeru, and the crater! I was lucky enough with the cloud so the view up there was so clear to the east. And if I looked straight, I could see the sun coming up slowly.

Since Mount Bromo is one of the most popular tourist destination in Indonesia, it is crowded! Some people even used their camera flash as they took some pictures of the mountain, which I found quite annoying.

But later when the sun shows up, all things were paid off.

Mount Bromo’s Crater06.30

Off to the crater we go! We trekked down Mount Penanjakan and up to Mount Bromo summit. It was a 2 – 3 km long journey. There are horses available for rent but we chose to walk instead.

From Mount Penanjakan, it took around 10 minutes using our Jeep to reach the foot of Mount Bromo’s Crater. And an hour walk to the top of Mount Bromo’s crater.

The Savanna07.30

Next up was the savanna area. We just had a quick stroll around this area and took some pictures along our way. There’s nothing so special around here. But still the view was beautiful.

I had so much fun hiking Mount Bromo! The sunrise, the experience, the feeling worth the effort. Thank you for the amazing experience!

TipsBring your jacket along with your gloves as it’s cold up there at dawn. But if you don’t you could rent a jacket for around 25k-30k Rupiah and buy a gloves for 20k Rupiah.