Exotic Bromo Mountain

Mount Bromo (Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), is an active volcano and part of the Tengger massif, in East Java, Indonesia. At 2,329 meters it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is the most well known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.

Mount Bromo sits in the middle of a vast plain called the Sand Sea (Indonesian: Lautan Pasir), a protected nature reserve since 1919. The typical way to visit Mount Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang. From there it is possible to walk to the volcano in about 45 minutes, but it is also possible to take an organised jeep tour, which includes a stop at the viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan (2,270 meters) (Indonesian: Gunung Penanjakan). The best views from Mount Bromo to the Sand Sea below and the surrounding volcanoes are at sunrise. The viewpoint on Mount Penanjakan can also be reached on foot in about two hours. From inside the caldera, Sulfur is collected by workers.

Legend
According to a folklore, at the end of the 15th century princess Roro Anteng from the Majapahit Empire started a separate principality together with her husband Joko Seger. They named it Tengger after the last syllables of their names. The principality prospered, but the ruling couple did not have children. In their despair, they climbed Mount Bromo to pray to the gods, who granted them help, but requested the last child to be sacrificed to the gods. They had 24 children, and when the 25th and last child Kesuma was born Roro Anteng refused to do the sacrifice as promised. The gods then threatened with fire and brimstone, until she finally sacrificed the child. After the child was thrown into the crater, the voice of the child ordered the local people to perform an annual ceremony on the volcano, which is still held today.

Compared with Java’s other major peaks, Gunung Bromo (2392m) is a midget, but this volcano’s beauty is in its setting, not its size. Rising from the guts of the ancient Tengger caldera, Bromo is one of three volcanoes to have emerged from a vast crater, stretching 10km across. Flanked by the peaks of Kursi (2581m) and Batok (2440m), the steaming cone of Bromo stands in a sea of ashen, volcanic sand, surrounded by the towering cliffs of the crater’s edge. Nearby, Gunung Semeru (3676m), Java’s highest peak and one of its most active volcanoes, throws its shadow – and occasionally its ash – over the whole scene.

Most visitors come through Probolinggo. Hotels in Cemoro Lawang and Ngadisari can make bookings for expensive onward bus tickets from Probolinggo (15, 000Rp by public bus) to Yogyakarta (125, 000Rp to 140, 000Rp) and Denpasar (125, 000Rp to 140, 000Rp).

Travel agencies in Solo and Yogyakarta book minibuses to Bromo for 100, 000Rp to 150, 000Rp. These are not luxury minibuses, and sometimes they run a bigger bus to Probolinggo and change there. Occasionally buses will stop short of Cemoro Lawang – specify this as your end destination when purchasing your ticket.

Tours to Bromo are easily organised in Malang, and you can also arrange jeep hire in hotels and travel agents there.