3 Days On Java: Bali – Bromo – Kawah Ijen – Bali
“3 Days on Java” is an excellent choice for an adventure tour. This trip will start you from Bali and then take you to the amazing Bromo and Semeru volcanoes, not to mention the excellent Kawah Ijen complex.
Tour Overview
This tour is best suited and suitable for solo travelers, families, friends, co-workers, and lovers. This trip will last for three days and two nights. Within this period of time, you can get acquainted with the local culture and have the chance to visit traditional Javanese villages, see coffee plantations, try out the local’s traditional food, and witness the beautiful view of your incredible surroundings.
Why Should You Visit Bromo and Kawah Ijen?
There is a multitude of reasons for you to visit Bromo and Kawah Ijen, the first of which is:
- Witnessing the fantastic sunrise from Tenger to Bromo’s active volcano.
- Hearing the sounds of the earth while balancing on the edge of an active volcano crater.
- Discovering the impressive landscapes of Bromo and Kawah Ijen.
Day 1 – Transferring to Java
First off, you will start your trip at dawn in a car or minibus in South Bali (A pick-up is also available from Ubud around 7 to 7:30 a.m. or from the Probolingo railway station in Java around 4 to 5 p.m.)
Once you have driven through the Balinese landscapes, you will take a ferryboat to Java and continue your trip there, taking in the beautiful Javanese landscapes.
After that, you will arrive at the last village of the Bromo site during the late afternoon (With an altitude of 2,300 meters), and then you can have a local dinner. After that, you will have some free time to rest or gather your thoughts. If you are still energized even with all these activities, then you can explore your surroundings before the night climb.
Day 2 – Meeting the Bromo
For the second day of the tour, you will first wake up at 3:30 and then depart on an off-road 4×4 jeep. Once you have reached your given destination, you will then begin a journey of climbing to the top of the Tenger-Bromo caldera to get to what is called the “King-Kong” viewpoint with an altitude of 2,650 meters.
Once you have reached the viewpoint platform, you can view the beautiful sunrise over a multitude of volcanoes that are listed below:
– Bromo (An active volcano with an altitude of 2,300 meters)
– Batok (A dormant volcano with an altitude of 2,400 meters)
– Semeru (The tallest active and erupting volcano boasting an altitude of 3,677 meters)
As a warning, this beautiful viewing session can be ruined depending on the weather condition.
After you have enjoyed the fantastic view, you will cross what they call the sea of sand (A place made up of the ashes of volcanoes and the debris of prior eruptions) and reach the sacred Hindu temples at the foot of the enormous Bromo and Batok volcanoes.
While you are making your way around the temples dedicated to the gods that live inside the crater, you will go up a steep and narrow path and climb at least 250 steps to reach the top of the mountain.
After you have walked through the path in the cold night, you will then experience the fascinating sight of the smoking crater, with its sulfur vapors emanating from the insides of the volcano. This view truly is an unforgettable one.
Once you have explored the impressive volcanic site, you can continue your tour.
During it, you can witness magnificent landscapes, many traditional villages, a variety of plant (Such as coffee, tobacco, and rice), and the authentic Javanese lifestyle in this fascinating volcanic region. After this, you will first have lunch and dinner of local cuisine before arriving at your hotel.
Day 3 – Traversing Through the Kawah Ijen
For the third and final day of this tour, you will begin your departure at 1:00 am for a 1-hour transfer to the Kawah Ijen base camp. After some safety briefings and the provision of essential equipment (Such as lamps, gas masks, and more), you will begin the night climb at 2:00 am. Do not worry about getting lost, there are professional guides there that are experienced and will lead you to the summit as long as 2,300 meters through the mountain t, under the night sky. This journey will take somewhere between 1 and a half or 2 hours of climbing to reach the top of the Kawah Ijen volcano.
Once you have reached the top of the crater, a rather scary part begins, you will start to descend in complete darkness into the caldera of an active volcano to witness a unique phenomenon that people call a blue flame.
While descending the inside may seem risky. Most of your guides were former sulfur miners and porters in the past and therefore are very knowledgeable about the crater and will help you descend safely without harm. They will diligently look over your safety, and the guides will check if you are using the protective masks correctly, with constant help and guidance within the crater.
If you are still there at around 5:00 a.m., you will be able to watch the sunrise above the largest known acid lake in the world that will complete this beautiful journey. You can take the time to appreciate the beautiful scenery that surrounds the area, the scene of the sunrise above the impressive turquoise lake while the brave workers carry large sulfur blocks on their backs to the crater’s edge.
Once you are done taking in the scenery, at around 6-7 a.m., you will descend from the top and head back to the base camp with a much lower altitude of 1,900 meters. When the sun rises, you will be able to appreciate the incredible view of the trail that led to the crater of the volcano. After that, you will safely descend the slopes of the volcano and have breakfast specially prepared by the Javanese locals. Once it is over, you will return to your starting point in the South of Bali and arrive at around 6. p.m. with a ferry ride from Java.
Once you have returned home, this trip will most likely tire you out physically, but we can guarantee that this feeling will quickly pass and will instead give way to the joy of the new memories of happiness that you will cherish for the rest of your life.