Gunung Bromo really
is something else. It's not the mountain itself, but the sheer majesty of the
experience: the immense size of the entire Tengger crater, the supernatural
beauty of the scenery and the dramatic highland light really are what dreams
are made of.
Virtually all tours
are planned to enable you to experience the mountain at sunrise. This is when
the great crater is at its ethereal best and colours are most impressive. But
visibility is usually good throughout the day in the dry season, even though
the slopes below Cemoro Lawang may be covered in mist. Later in the day you’ll
also avoid the dawn crowds – things get especially busy during holiday periods.
In the wet season it’s often bright and clear at dawn but quickly clouds over.
If you want to just
hike to Bromo from Cemoro Lawang, it’s a 3km (40 minute) walk down the crater
wall and across the eerie Laotian Pasir (Sea of Sand) to the slopes of Bromo.
White stone markers are easy to follow during the day but can be more elusive
in the dark. Make sure you climb the right cone; Bromo has a stone staircase.
Some hikers, disoriented in the dark, have attempted to climb neighbouring
Batok.
After ascending the
253 steps you’ll come face to face with the steaming, sulphurous guts of the
volcano. There are sweeping views back across the Laotian Pasir to the lip of
the crater and over to Batok and the Hindu temple (this only opens on
auspicious days in the pilgrim calendar) at its base.
Mercifully there's
little of the tacky commercialism (bar the odd souvenir seller) that besmirches
many Indonesian beauty spots. The local Tengger people may press you into
accepting a horse ride across the crater bed but there’s no really serious
hassle. It’s still easy to connect spiritually with this sacred peak if you
wander around the lip of the Bromo cone, away from the main viewing point.
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