Indonesia Abroad - Kawah Ijen

Kawah (crater) Ijen is a famous volcanic crater located in East Java. With an approximate elevation of 2,799 meters, it was one of the more harder mountain climbs I did here. Ijen is a protected park and is almost in its entirety occupied by a group of stratovolcanoes. A stratovolcano is a type of volcano characterized by its large, conical shape and steep profile. It is formed from multiple layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. This is noticable once you begin the climb towards the top of Kawah Ijen.

We departed from Surabaya with the train at around 22:00 and arrived somewhere around 05:00 in Banyuwangi where we booked a cheap hotel for a night to dump our excess baggage.

The climb

Visiting Kawah Ijen involves a challenging trek, typically starting around 2 in the night to reach the summit by dawn. This timing allows people to witness the blue flames before sunrise, and see the actual sunrise at the top again if you're one of the first to get back from the blue flames. Guided tours are available if you really want to, but not necessary at all to climb. What is necessary is a health certificate since January 6th, 2024. Apparently, some people passed out on the road because they didn't took their asthma into account. These health certificates however need to be purchased at one of the "clinics" on the road in the area. For you, it's more of a formality, and they'll barely do anything for you to get one, but it's just being seen as a good business opportunity right now. We didn't know this at first and came with our own health certificates from home as we needed those for our visa anyway, but they were not accepted. As we didn't want to go back down to the city to get a certificate, we paid off the gate guards to let us in without one anyway. lmao (๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

It is often said online that you have to pay your tickets online, but the website was really confusing, so we just went to the counter at the entrance of the crater gates and paid our stuff there.

Aside from that, you could optionally hire a gas mask on site for about Rp50.000,- to help breathe a little bit more comfortably in the sulfur clouds around the blue fire. Proper footwear is also strongly recommended, as rocky "pathways" to and from the crater are especially difficult to traverse. Aside from that, I recommend to bring water with you as well. they'll sell you some in before the entrance, but not after. Even though the night is pretty cold up there, you'll still sweat a river when climbing the mountain anyway.

Blue Flames

The blue flames can be found down in the center of the crater where people can still walk. The flames are caused by the combustion of sulfuric gases that emerge from cracks in the volcano and ignite upon contact with the air. This phenomenon is especially visible at night, so try to be on time if you want to see it for yourself.

Kawah Ijen is also known for its sulfur mining activities. Miners manually extract sulfur from the crater, carrying heavy loads of the yellow mineral down the mountain, either on slippers or barefoot. The conditions are harsh, with toxic fumes and rough terrain, making this a challenging and dangerous occupation.

Acidic Crater Lake

At the heart of Kawah Ijen lies a large crater lake, known to be one of the most acidic in the world (I heard at least 7 people drowned in it). The lake's striking turquoise color is due to the high concentration of dissolved metals and acids, primarily sulfuric acid. It looks hella cool.

The other side of the mountain houses a lot of vegetation. Take a look down below. It's really nice.

Kawah Ijen is definitely recommended to visit. The climb is a bit heavy, but really fulfilling, and the view and experience in general is just really nice. I just don't recommend the climb for anyone with breathing problems or people with difficulties climbing over loose rocks on a pretty steep height :]

That's all for this one. Cheers!

(..◜ᴗ◝..)