Sulfur Clouds and Sand Seas – Past the Little Pink Dot

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Rising from the center of East Java, Mt Bromo is certainly one of Indonesia’s most iconic volcanoes. Named after Brahma, the Hindu god of creation and standing at 2,329 meters above sea degree, Mt Bromo will not be the very best volcano in Indonesia, however it’s positively probably the most spectacular with its uncooked volcanic magnificence.

Mt Bromo is an energetic volcano nestled inside the huge Tengger Caldera, an immense volcanic crater shaped when a a lot bigger historic volcano collapsed into itself a number of hundred thousand years in the past. What makes this panorama much more fascinating is that Mt Bromo is a part of a smaller, youthful caldera nestled contained in the bigger Tengger Caldera. In essence, it’s a placing geological marvel: a volcano, inside a volcano, inside one more historic volcano, a layered pure surprise that actually captures the creativeness.

I’ve been longing to go to Mt Bromo for a while and the possibility got here once I joined a bunch of photographers for a brief journey there. The closest metropolis with worldwide flights is Surabaya, the capital metropolis of East Java. There are day by day flights (2 hours flight time) from Singapore with SIA or Scoot. From right here its a roughly 3 hours drive to Mt Bromo. We stayed at a resort constructed close to the sting of the caldera which gave good views of Mt Bromo.

The native folks residing listed here are the Tenggerese folks, descended from the historic Majapahit kingdom. Many Tenggerese are farmers, cultivating crops akin to potatoes, cabbage, and onions within the fertile volcanic soil. Tourism has additionally develop into an important a part of the native financial system. Their tradition blends Hinduism with native customs, and the mountain holds deep non secular which means for them. They rejoice the annual Yadnya Kasada competition by providing crops and livestock to the volcano’s crater.

Some locals personal horses that are utilized in farm work or for tourism. We obtained certainly one of them to pose for a dramatic portrait shoot at sundown.
A favourite shot of mine in black and white.
One other portrait shoot with native farmers stress-free in entrance of their farm.

Most guests come to Mt Bromo to observe dawn from the assorted viewpoints situated across the caldera’s rim, go to the crater of Mt Bromo and trip jeeps, motorbikes or horses on the Sand Sea. Having fun with the chilly climate up within the mountains can be a very good respite from the tropical warmth of the lowlands in Indonesia.

Ready for dawn from Penanjakan Viewpoint. That is in all probability the very best viewpoint and may be very common with guests. It meant that we needed to depart our resort at 1:00 am to get right here early to order the perfect spots for dawn photograph taking. You possibly can see the sunshine trails of quite a few jeeps as folks make their method as much as the assorted viewpoints.
By no means to waste time that would have been spent on magnificence sleep, it was astro-photography time with our dwelling galaxy, the Milky Approach.
A cloudy dawn on our first day at Mt Bromo. It was additionally our solely dawn as foggy climate made the second day a wash out. Mt Batok is in entrance, Mt Bromo is on the left with the smoking crater, and behind within the distance is Mt Semeru.
The small village of Cemoro Lawang which is a cluster of lodges, guesthouses and homestays on the fringe of the caldera. That is the closest you may keep to Mt Bromo. There is no such thing as a lodging on the Sand Sea under.
Most individuals will assume that Mt Bromo needs to be the upper volcanic cone on the best, however that’s truly Mt Batok, an extinct volcano. Mt Bromo is the decrease one on the left with the smoking crater. The panorama is certainly one of stark contrasts. The energetic volcano is roofed in barren ash whereas the extinct volcano is roofed in inexperienced grass and shrubs.

Mt Bromo is an energetic volcano with main eruptions documented because the nineteenth century. Its final eruption was in 2019 the place a 1 km exclusion zone was declared across the crater. Earlier than that in 2015-2016, tourism was halted on account of a significant eruption.

There’s a flight of stairs that goes as much as the crater’s edge. That is the place the native Tenggerese climb as much as convey choices through the annual Yadnya Kasada competition. Guests can climb up the steps to look into the smoking crater.
A view of one other volcano distant within the morning mist.
What no person ever mentions about their go to to Mt Bromo are the site visitors jams on the best way down after dawn. We had been caught right here for greater than an hour whereas everybody simply sat by the roadside ready for the road of jeeps to maneuver. Enterprising locals walked alongside the road promoting snacks to hungry folks.

On the backside of the caldera is the Sand Sea (domestically referred to as Lautan Pasir). This can be a huge windswept plain of high-quality mud and ash from numerous previous volcanic eruptions. The Tengger Caldera stretches greater than 8 km from rim to rim once I measured it on Google Maps. To place this scale into perspective, you may simply match all of Singapore’s HDB cities inside the boundaries of the caldera, and there would nonetheless be room left over. And as grand as this appears, Indonesia’s Toba Caldera in Sumatra dwarfs even Tengger Caldera; its huge crater lake incorporates Samosir Island, which alone is in regards to the measurement of Singapore.

These 4×4 jeeps are used to get across the steep roads main up and down the caldera’s sides, and the huge tires provide good grip and help on the Sand Sea. They’re all solely outdated Toyota Land Cruisers with lots of them greater than 20 years outdated.
Horses are additionally one of many technique of transport on this harsh panorama. Though they’re principally used for giving rides to vacationers.
Here’s a 3D view from Google Maps giving a way of scale to the places talked about on this weblog. It actually makes me really feel minuscule in comparison with the uncooked energy of nature.

Standing on the rim of Mt Bromo, surrounded by sulfur clouds and the huge Sand Sea, it’s straightforward to be humbled and awed by how geological forces have created this immense caldera by way of volcanic exercise which continues to this present day. Whether or not you come for journey, reflection, or just to witness a legendary dawn, Mt Bromo guarantees an expertise that lingers lengthy after the journey ends.


In case you are pondering of visiting Mt Bromo, listed here are a number of tricks to be aware of:

Chilly Climate
It will get fairly chilly within the evenings and early mornings in case you are pondering of going out to observe dawn from one of many viewpoints. Temperatures can drop to lower than 10°C with robust winds on the mountain prime, and wind chill could make it even colder. Its finest to decorate in layers and put on a windproof and waterproof outer shell to maintain out the wind. Most individuals and myself additionally wore gloves and beanies to guard our arms and heads/ears from the wind and chilly. Good mountain climbing boots with heat socks are additionally really useful for strolling on uneven terrain.

I additionally came upon that the native lodges/guesthouses/homestays don’t have heating within the rooms, though scorching water is at all times obtainable for bathing. You is perhaps fortunate if they’ve a small area heater within the room. So put together some thermal pajamas or thick sleeping garments.

Mud
The high-quality mud and ash within the Sand Sea can have an effect on these with respiratory issues, so a shawl to cowl up, mud masks or N95 masks could also be needed. Sun shades additionally assist to maintain mud out of your eyes and defend in opposition to the solar’s glare reflecting off the pale sand.

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