Volcano Bromo

Bromo Volcano and Bromo-Tengger-Semetu National Park is one of the brightest and most popular attractions of the island of Java and Indonesia as a whole ( volcano Bromo on the map). It attracts fantastic, unearthly landscapes, which are believed to be similar to lunar or Martian. And indeed, a huge caldera with a diameter of almost 8 kilometers, the landscape of which was formed by the volcanic dust of an active volcano, does not look like any place on our planet. And every year tens of thousands of tourists rush here to meet the delightful dawn, and then climb to the crater of the volcano, despite the very high prices for excursions and the difficulties that await independent tourists here who decide to get to this place on their own and more economically. But about everything in order further.

Dawn on the volcano Bromo, Indonesia

Panorama of the Tengger Caldera

• There are minutes left until dawn
• ...
• The first rays illuminate the volcano
• And finally it dawned

Summary information about the plateau and the volcano Bromo, and useful tips

• It is best to visit Bromo from the village of Cemoro Lawan, from there you can explore everything on foot or by jeep. This is the main tourist base for sending to the volcano, see more about it below.
• The best time to visit is June-September.
• A huge number of scammers revolve around the routes by which tourists get to the volcano. Carefully read the section "How to get to the volcano Bromo" below.
• It is very cold here at night, and even during the day the temperature does not rise above 20 degrees. Take warm clothes with you, or in extreme cases, jackets from 30,000 rupees are offered for rent on the spot (1.98 USD, see Indonesian currency and exchange rate).
• For a night hike to the observation decks, be sure to take a flashlight, preferably a headlamp.
• Access to the observation decks is free, only the direct entrance to the territory of the Tengger caldera is paid 220,000 rupees on weekdays (14.51 USD) and 320,000 on weekends (21.11 USD). There is a way to get to the caldera on foot for free, as described below.
• There are no more motorcycle rentals in Probolingo to get to Chemoro Lavang on your own, you can rent it only in Malange or Surabaya.
• The bottom of the crater is very dusty, it doesn't hurt to take a bandage covering your face.
• This is a dangerous place, a volcanic eruption is possible at any time, so be sure to insure yourself. You can get medical travel insurance on one of the price comparison sites for insurance:
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What to see in Bromo National Park and Volcano

Before you go to Bromo and the national park, especially if you are planning an independent trip, you need to understand the geography of this place. It is best if you get acquainted with the description of the volcano, and at the same time view its map.

The national park itself occupies a huge territory, 502 square kilometers, or about 25 by 30 kilometers. There are several peaks here at once, some of which are active volcanoes. In general, there are two popular tourist routes/places in the park:

• The Tengger caldera, the Bromo volcano and the "sea of sand", and all this together is simply called "Bromo"
• Mount Gunung Semeru

• Tengger Caldera, Bromo volcano and "sea of sand"

  The most visited place by tourists is a huge caldera (crater) Tengger has an uneven shape with a diameter of almost 8 kilometers. There are three more mountains inside it:

  • Volcano Bromo height 2392 meters ( Bromo on the map), to the crater of which tourists climb
  • Mount Kursu is 2581 meters high ( mountain on the map)
  • Mount Batok is 2440 meters high ( mountain on the map)

  The bottom of the Tengger caldera is covered with volcanic ash and is called the "Sea of Sand" (Sea of Sand or Laotian Pasir). It is thanks to the "sea of sand" that the landscapes here have an unearthly appearance, while outside Tengger National Park is covered with green forests and looks like any other national park in these latitudes. Also here is the Hindu temple Pura Luhur Poten or simply Poten temple ( temple on the map). It can also be viewed, but you can only get inside on rare days when it opens to pilgrims.

  The traditional tourist route includes meeting the dawn at one of the observation points overlooking the entire Tengger crater, then descending into the "sea of sand", visiting the temple, and climbing the Bromo crater to a height of 2392 meters, from where you can see the interior of the volcano spewing gas and ash. The ascent is very simple, passes along a slope equipped with stone steps. It is worth noting that the meeting of dawn on one of the viewing platforms is not such a mandatory point of the route when visiting on your own. Yes, the views are wonderful, the conditions for photographing are simply excellent. But the meeting of the dawn has become such a hyped action that there are so many people who want to see it here during the weekend that not everyone has enough space, since the most popular viewing platforms are packed with package tourists "to the brim". If you do not have a sunrise meeting, then you can visit the viewing rooms during the day, or even better at sunset, weather permitting.

  For more information about how to go this route, read below on this page in the "how to get there" section.

• Mount Gunung Semeru

  It is the highest mountain (3676 meters) and one of the most active volcanoes in Java ( Gunung Semeru on the map). Only experienced tourists accompanied by guides should climb it. The ascent takes 2-3 days, which requires registration at the park headquarters and a medical certificate of health (it can be obtained here). Most often, the routes to Mount Semeru start from Malang, since the park headquarters are located there at the address: Jl Raden Intan No6, Malang. You can also hire a guide there and rent the appropriate equipment.

View of Bromo at night from the village

• A sea of sand...
• The road to the volcano...
• And the temple at the foot
• ...
• Stairs to Bromo
• ...
• The vent
• ...
• Crater rim
• ...
• View from the top
• ...

Panorama from Bromo

How to get to the volcano Bromo

Further information is provided in detail only on how to get to the Tengger caldera, the Bromo volcano and the "sea of sand". As for climbing Gunung Semeru Mountain, it is best to come to Malang and contact a travel agency there or directly to the park headquarters at Jl Raden Intan No6, Malang. You will need to register there, and you will receive all the necessary instructions.

So, if you have no experience of independent travel, then it is best to entrust the work of delivering you to the volcano to professionals, i.e. contact a travel agency. Excursions are best bought from trusted travel agencies based on reviews, or book online. Tours to Bromo are offered both separately and in conjunction with a visit to the volcano and Ijen plateau, which, of course, is worth it. You can buy them at the resorts of Bali, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Banyuwangi. In terms of time, they take two days and one night, and with a visit to Ijen, three days and two nights. But there is an opportunity to save money on excursions, for which you need to get to Probolingo or Malanga on your own, and from there you can already purchase a tour. The cost of an excursion from Bali to Bromo will be about $ 250, with a visit to Bromo and Ijen you will have to pay about $ 380. From Jakarta, Yogyakarta and other cities of Java there are very convenient one-way tours with a visit to Bromo and Ijena and a continuation of the route to Bali. There are such tours in the opposite direction from Bali to volcanoes and beyond.

You can buy excursions in recreation areas at street travel agencies, or you can find and pick up sightseeing tours online on these trusted sites:

• Sputnik8.com (Russian)
• Tripster.ru (Russian)

If you are ready to do the whole route yourself, then here is the most detailed instruction:

The Bromo volcano can be reached by three different roads. The most popular and convenient of them passes through Probolingo and Chemoro Lavang, and it is the only one that can be reached not by rented transport. If you are ready to rent a motorcycle or a car, then other routes will suit you, depending on where you will start from:

• Probolinggo - Cemoro Lawang route

  The village of Cemoro Lawang is located at the very edge of the Tengger caldera, and from it to the observation decks and the volcano itself can be reached on foot, without resorting to guides at all, without hiring off-road drivers, or taxis ( Chemoro Lavang center on the map). The village exists solely due to tourism to the volcano, it has several hotels and hostels with the most basic amenities and prices that are two or three times too high, but you will have to spend only one night here. At every corner they offer to hire a jeep for a trip, accompanied by hiking guides, warm clothes for rent, etc. The route as a whole will look like this:

  1. Get to the city of Probolingo by train or bus. It can be made from Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya or Banyuwangi. There is a direct bus from Denpasar to Bali to Probolingo that costs from 125,000 rupees (about $9). (see learn more about how to get to Probolingo).

  2. From Probolingo, you need to take a minibus, taxi or motorcycle taxi to Chemoro Lavang. The cheapest way is by minibus, called here "bison". They depart from Jalan Raya Bromo near the Probolingo Bayuangga bus station ( station on the map). If you come to Probolingo by bus, then you just have to get out of the bus station and find these minibuses, if you come by train, then you need to get to it by minibus (yellow minibuses) for 5000 rupees.

     These minibuses are not a regular flight, they depart according to occupancy, most often in the first half of the day, and after 16 hours you can go to them only if you pay the full cost for empty seats. The price is not fixed and is called a driver depending on the number of passengers, and tourists are even more charged an increased cost. Usually the price is 35,000 rupees, after lunch it can go up to 50,000. An hour and a half on the way.

     It is on this route that the largest number of scammers operate, breeding tourists to travel at inflated prices by minibus, or tricking them into buying jeep tours. What's bad is that almost all local residents and drivers secretly participate in all these deceptions: they silently observe how tourists are being deceived, they are silent and rarely help, even when they are asked for help with the question of finding the right minibus or clarifying the real price. Tourists are deceived, at least in such ways, although there are many others:

     • Fake stations. Arriving buses from other cities, including minivans from Cemoro Lawang, as well as fake minibuses from the railway station do not take passengers to the Probolingo Bayuangga bus station, but drop them off at a travel agency with a fake signboard. If you go out in such a place, you will be offered minivan tickets at an inflated price, or "solder" a jeep rental with a driver. Therefore, before getting off the bus, make sure that you were brought really to the bus station. You can find out about this by the presence of other buses, or using the navigator.
     • At the real bus station, tourists are greeted by "helpers" and forced to rent a jeep with a driver, deceiving that minivans no longer go to Chemoro Lavang. Do not pay attention to them, and go look for buses yourself. They stand and wait for passengers on Jalan Raya Bromo Street, and do not invite anyone. Even when you find the right minibus, do not rush to pay, because here you will be bred. Fake drivers and conductors will demand to pay the fare, and then disappear when the real driver appears. Remember: you only need to pay the fare in the hands of the driver when the bus starts moving.
     • Be careful upon arrival in Cemoro Lawanag and try to check on the navigator that you were brought to the center of the village, as on this route tourists are often taken to affiliated hostels or travel agencies that are far from the village and the volcano.

  3. From Chemoro Lavang you visit the observation decks and the volcano. Be careful, tourist wiring does not end here either.

     If you got to Chemoro Lavang, then it's not difficult to get to the volcano, observation decks, and walk along the sea of sand on your own on foot; you can rent a bicycle; or agree to intrusive offers to hire an SUV or join another group. There is really no point in agreeing to an SUV if you just really don't want to travel on foot. The fact is that renting an SUV on the spot can be even more expensive than if you buy an excursion in Yogyakarta or Bali, for example. But remember that it will be very difficult to get rid of intrusive offers, be prepared for all kinds of deceptions.

     There are several equipped viewing platforms in the vicinity, where dawn is most often seen, but there are also non-equipped ones, there are much fewer people on them. All of them are free. If you are determined to meet the dawn and do it yourself, then it is best to walk along the trail during the day and look for a place, because at night it will be difficult to navigate for the first time. Be sure to take a flashlight with you at night. If you are on a rented motorbike, then you can get to some viewing points by transport, and to some you can significantly shorten the walking distance by partially driving. Here are the most popular viewing platforms and their position on the map. If you want a more secluded environment to meet the dawn, then look for trails near them leading to such places:

     • Seruni Point II is the most accessible playground, it can be reached on foot or by car, only 3 kilometers from the center and 250 meters up ( observation deck on the map). The hike will take about an hour.
     • King Kong Hill is one of the best places: there are fewer people, the views are better. You will have to walk to it from Seruni Point II in just 20 minutes ( observation deck on the map)
     • Seruni Point – the highest point ( observation deck on the map). It is here that tourists are brought by jeeps, but the road leads through the crater, and you will have to pay at the checkpoint for admission, but after that you will be able to climb the Bromo crater using the same tickets, you will not have to pay anything extra. It can also be reached on foot from King Kong Hill in about 40 minutes, but it doesn't make much sense, because the views from King Kong Hill are no worse.
     • There are also other observation points on the road on the way to Seruni Point.

     It is important that not only the Bromo volcano itself is visible from the observation deck, but also the view opens to the east (to the left of the volcano, if you look at it from the observation deck), since that's where the sun appears. This is really a magical sight that causes genuine delight among all tourists, and as soon as the edge of the sun appears and the valley is illuminated by the first rays, everyone involuntarily applauds and whistles.

     After meeting the dawn, you can go directly to the Bromo volcano, the temple and the "sea of sand". They are located inside the huge Tengger crater, and this whole area is toll-free. To get to it, you need to buy an entrance ticket to the national park at the checkpoint (220,000 rupees on weekdays and 320,000 on weekends). The checkpoint is located in the center of the village ( Checkpoint on the map). From here on foot to the temple and Bromo 3 kilometers, or 40 minutes on foot, which you will overcome through the "sea of sand". If you don't want to walk, you can hire official park transport here, which will cost twice as much as excursions and intermediaries in the village offer, or hire a motorcycle taxi, which is even cheaper. There are a lot of "helpers" speculating on official prices. Ignore them, and communicate only with the official sellers of the national park.

     The culmination of the route is the ascent to the crater of the volcano Bromo. It can be carried out only from 07:00 to 17:00. The ascent is simple, since a stone staircase is laid along the slope, but you will have to spend your strength. At the top you can look into the mouth of the volcano, but you will not see lava, only clouds of sulfur smoke and ash. You can walk along the edge of the crater, but be very careful. This is a dangerous zone, and at any moment it can be closed due to the activity of the volcano, as it was in 2011.

     It is impossible to drive up close to the ascent, even if you will be on your own or excursion transport: access is limited by a fence, from which you will have to walk. Here you will be offered to ride a horse on the site for 100,000 rupees round trip. This is a very high price for such a short trip, and it is worth agreeing to it only if you want to ride a horse. Guides will also offer escort, or they may try to take money for admission. There is no need to pay anything, tickets are not checked here.

     How to visit Bromo for free

     There is a trail in the village where you can go down to the Tengger crater and visit everything for free. This entrance is located near the Cemara Indah Hotel ( passage on the map), and marked with a sign that foreigners are not allowed to enter there. If you have the nerve, you can go through this entrance, which is better to do early in the morning or at night. But keep in mind that sometimes park rangers are on duty here and can deploy you already at the very bottom, and then you will have to walk back.

     There are other places where you can go down for free, but further from the village. There is no fence anywhere, and the entrance is limited only by the natural descent of the crater.

     Do not forget to issue a travel insurance policy without fail before visiting Bromo. If you come to Indonesia on a ticket, the insurance that is included in the package in most cases will not work during a visit to the volcano on an excursion not purchased from a tour operator, so you will have to issue an additional insurance policy with the option "active sports" or "sports activity". And to save money, you can make insurance valid only for a few days or even for one day, it will cost only a few US dollars.

     If you are going on a trip to Indonesia on your own, then it is better to make insurance for the entire period. Check and compare the cost of insurance from different companies, and you can arrange it online through these trusted sites:

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     • ☂ Найти и сравнить цены на туристическую страховку на Cherehapa.ru
     • ☂ Найти и сравнить цены на туристическую страховку на Tripinsurance.ru
  4. Check out of the hotel and go back to Probolingo.

• Route Pasuruan – Tosari – Wonokitri

  On this road, you can get to the Tengger crater by SUV, or if you drive a motorcycle well, then on it. The road is nice and paved throughout, but very winding and steep on descents and ascents, so be careful.

  At the entrance to the crater, the road bifurcates and goes to the left to the observation decks to meet the dawn, and to the right to descend into the caldera. By the way, it is along this road that excursion SUVs rise from the crater to the observation decks. After the viewing platforms, you can go down to the caldera, drive to the temple, park your motorcycle/car there in the parking lot, and climb the Bromo. Theoretically, it is possible to overcome this route by car, but you will not be able to drive through the "sea of sand".

• Malang – Tumpang route

  This is the shortest route from Malang, 50 kilometers. It runs along a broken asphalt and concrete road, however, it is easy to overcome on a motorbike or SUV.

  The entrance to the caldera takes place from the south side of the Tengger crater, and you will have to drive another 8 kilometers to the Bromo and 10 kilometers to the observation decks, along the bottom of the Tengger through the "sea of sand". On the way through the crater, you can also make a stop near the observation point Bukit Teletubbies Bromo and Pasir Berbisik.

When is it better to climb the Bromo, the time of work

The best time to visit Bromo is the dry season from June to September. And things are not even so much in the rains as in the clouds, which will not allow you to fully enjoy the views outside the dry season.

Weather on the volcano Bromo (in Probolingo) and forecast

During the day you can visit the crater at any time, but the ascent to the Bromo is possible from 07:00 to 17:00 for safety reasons. Observation points are open around the clock. To meet the dawn, you will have to wake up in Chemoro Lavang at about 3-4 o'clock in the morning, be guided by the time of sunrise:

Where to stay before climbing Bromo, hotels

As we mentioned above, it is best to visit Bromo from Chemoro Lavang village. There are about a dozen hotels and guest houses with the simplest amenities and prices that are two or three times too high. In general, this is not a problem, since you will only have to stay here for one or two nights, but if you want to save money, you can stay in other places along the road from Probolingo, but in this case you will deprive yourself of the opportunity to get to the volcano on foot, you will have to hire transport.

Accommodation can also be found in the villages of Tosari and Wonokitri on the way from Pasuruan.

You can find and book hotels around Bromo by following the links:

• 🛌 Search for hotels in the vicinity of Bromo on Yandex.travel

Bromo map with hotels

Cost of visit, entrance fee

In addition to the transportation and excursion fees, you will have to pay for the entrance to the national park, and twice. The first fee is paid at the entrance to the village of Cemoro Lawang – 10,000 rupees (0.66 rub .. After that, you can stay in the village and even walk to the observation decks, they are free. But when you go down to the Tengger crater to walk/ride on the "sea of sand", see the temple and climb to the Bromo crater, you will have to pay 220,000 rupees again on weekdays (14.51 USD) and 320,000 on weekends (21.11 USD).