Mount Bromo is a live and active volcano located in east Java, Indonesia. Mount Bromo is surrounded by the 'Sea of Sand', it doesn't look like a desert but more like a lunar landscape surrounded by thick green forests and a dense fog which cleared the higher you climbed.
(Sunrise at the viewpoint near Mt Bromo)
Our day started with a pre-arranged jeep picking us up from our hostel. Then taking us close to a view point in Probolinggo for sunrise. From here we trekked the rest of the way to the viewpoint to watch the stunning sunrise with a truly amazing view! This really is one of my most memorable sunrises so far, I love looking back at the photos and videos.
After sunrise we made our way back to the jeep which would drive us through the landscape and across some of the sea of sand. There were many other jeeps taking the same journey as us and they kicked up sand, which added to the fog and made it difficult to see ahead. But eventually through a clearing I could see Mt Bromo with smoke billowing from the top.
Evetually the jeeps stopped, we hopped out and began our trek by foot to the base of the volcano. As we crossed the remainder of the sea of sand, I could see a temple appearing from behind the fog, it was covered in sand and seemed unused. It was a little eerie, probably due to the fog and it's placing. I thought we can't be that far now and then as we passed the temple the fog cleared up a little more and I could see the rest of our journey... the summit was a good climb away yet.
We started our ascent, the route to the top was steep at times and made more difficult when we unknowingly selected the steeper route at a fork in the climb. The other route had a more gentle climb but our route was shorter, more direct and a lot steeper. But we weren't about to turn back and take the other route, oh no, we were committed now.
Did I mention we'd only had about 2 and a half hours sleep the previous night... :-/ Needless to say, I along with my 2 companions was pretty tired at this point. Eventually we made it to the last stretch, a set of steep stairs with one lane of people going up on the left and one lane of people coming down on the other side. So we were stuck going up at the overall slow pace which really wasn't helping my tired legs. Call me crazy but I would've preferred to dart up the stairs as quick as possible rather than suffer slowly.
For some reason one the first things I did when we got to the top was turn around and look back at how far we had come. I couldn't see the Jeeps! You can just about make them out in the distance in the photo below (it's the really faint thin, dark line way back in the distance). Then it dawned on me... I'm standing at the edge of a live and active volcano!!! I have always wanted to be able to say I climbed a volcano and I had achieved it! I was very happy. The smoke rising, the rumble in the ground, the colour of the ground and the sound of lava bubbling.... the only thing missing was you couldn't see the lava. But this didn't take anything away from how amazing this experience was. You could feel you were standing on something powerful.
Majority of people stayed close to the small shrine at the top of the stairs, they didn't travel further around the rim. But my adventurous buddies and I couldn't help but go further round to a quieter spot. Don't let the pictures fool you, when you're at the top the walkway isn't very wide. It's a little unnerving for a short while until you adjust, then it's a little easier.
Once we'd stopped travelling round the rim of the volcano, we swapped phones to take pictures of each other, I recorded a video message for my friends and family and set my go pro to take a timelapse.
Eventually, our time here was done which was unfortunate not just because of how amazing it was here but also because it had only just started to warm up... up to this point the morning was pretty cold, so cold I needed to use a jacket for the first time in SEA. So we started our descent and headed back to the jeeps to move on to our next adventure, which was the crater Ijen, with sulphur mine and blue fire, located a little further east. Little did we know, Ijen was going to be significantly more physically demanding than Bromo.
I hoped you liked hearing about my trip to Mt Bromo as much as I enjoyed sharing it. I will be posting a video of this adventure on here in the very near future (once it's done), so if you liked the read then follow me and keep an eye out for it.