Java is a land born from volcanic fire.

On the island alone, there are 112 volcanoes, 35 of which are active. These unpredictable mountains of lava and ash have sculpted Java’s wild and mountainous landscape. The Indonesian island teems with fertile highlands, steamy jungles, cloud-ringed cinder cones, and billowing craters.

Perhaps the most emblematic of these Javanese peaks is Mount Bromo. With its puffing smoke and sea of undulating sand, the volcano puts Indonesia’s natural beauty on display in dramatic fashion.

BROMO TENGGER SEMERU NATIONAL PARK

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java contains five active peaks in close proximity. These conical peaks dot a lunar landscape that has sprung from the ancient Tengger caldera.

Forming a backdrop to the park’s classic viewpoint lies Mount Semeru. The 12,000 ft conical volcano rises regally above the surrounding landscape. It is the tallest mountain in Java.

In the foreground, smoldering Bromo thunders and fumes. It emerges from the floor of the crater, as if erupting from a billowing sand sea.

MOUNT BROMO TOURS

I visited the famous Indonesia landmark in June with my friend, Courtney. We chose to travel to the volcano as part of an organized transportation package from our hostel in Yogyakarta.

There are countless agencies offering Mount Bromo sunrise tours and, to be completely honest, I’m not even sure which company we chose. Most tour agencies seem to offer the same product: transport to Cemoro Lawang, accommodation, a 3am Jeep ride to see the sunrise, transport to the Bromo crater and then a ride back to Probolinggo.

I originally wanted to visit Mount Bromo independently, without a tour. But after arriving in Cemoro Lewang exhausted and ill-prepared, my travel companion and I opted to add the sunrise tour to our transportation package.

So at 3am, we piled into a Jeep and followed hundreds of similar vehicles up the mountainside in a cloud of exhaust. When we reached the viewpoint, throngs of tourists were already practically piled on top of each other—selfie sticks in the air—waiting for the volcano to reveal itself.

MOUNT BROMO SUNRISE

In complete darkness, Courtney and I carved out a little space in the crowd and waited for the sun to emerge.

As the minutes ticked by, the sky slowly lightened and I began to see the shapes of the mountains form. With time, the faint outlines of volcanic ridges grew bolder and bolder. The rising sun cast a golden light on the volcano.

The view took my breath away. It was stunning. Awe-inspiring. Majestic.

Viewing the Mount Bromo volcano at sunrise may be cliche and overdone, but it is absolutely worthwhile. Even if you have to endure a bumper-to-bumper Jeep ride up a mountain in order to witness it.

MOUNT BROMO CRATER HIKE

Following sunrise, our Jeep tour dropped us off at the beginning of the Bromo crater hike. The hike to the lip of the crater took us around half an hour, roundtrip.

The short hike to the crater of Mount Bromo crosses a sea of undulating sand, a Hindu temple and a smaller volcanic peak with wave-like ridges.

The hike to Mount Bromo’s crater brought us face to face with the volcano’s power. Like the active Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, I saw smoke rising from Mount Bromo’s bowl-shaped cavity and could hear its thundering roar. The sound was deafening.

Though I’d hiked up volcanoes before, knowing how active Indonesia’s volcanoes have been in recent years, nearly had me sprinting down the mountainside with every audible rumble.

Staring into the fuming crater was awesome. It was powerful. It rattled me and shook me and pumped my adrenaline a million miles a minute. I was exhausted from my long journey and from lack of sleep, yet I was also exhilarated, awestruck and full of wonder.

And suddenly, the long and tiring bus ride from Yogyakarta to Mount Bromo, seemed like nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

VISITING MOUNT BROMO WITHOUT A TOUR

Though tours are certainly a popular way of exploring Mount Bromo, many travelers visit the volcano independently. Courtney and I had originally planned on visiting the volcano on a DIY adventure, too.

Our original plan was to arrive in Cemoro Lawang with plenty of time to figure out how to hike Mount Bromo the following day. Our nine hour bus ride from Yogyakarta was slated to get in at around 4pm, giving us an entire evening to prepare for our adventure.

Yet, as often happens with budget overland travel in developing countries, things didn’t exactly go as planned.

Seventeen hours and two flat tires later, we finally reached Cemoro Lawang at midnight–exhausted, frustrated and nearly defeated.

To enter the park without paying the entrance fee, you can take a secret passage near the Hotel Cemara Indah. The passage to the right of the hotel parking leads to the crater hike.

For the classic Mount Bromo sunrise viewpoints, pass the hotel and continue to the right. The path leads uphill, to various lookouts on Mount Penanjakan.

Reports I’ve read recommend watching the sunrise from King Kong Hill. The view from King Kong is said to be comparable to that which we visited on the Jeep tour, but has far fewer tourists.

WHERE TO STAY NEAR MOUNT BROMO

Our Mount Bromo tour came with accommodation options that ranged from basic to midrange. Courtney and I chose the cheapest package and realized immediately that it meant we would spend the night breathing through our mouths and laying on towels to create a barrier between us and the bed.

Trying not to think about the bugs, the stench of stagnant urine or the musty sheets, we bundled up in all our warmest clothes and collapsed for two hours of sleep.

I am not exaggerating when I say that our guesthouse in Cemoro Lawang was the worst place I’ve ever stayed.

Homestays are the most prolific accommodation option in Cemoro Lawang. Many of these guesthouses are bookable online but have average-to-poor reviews.

Aside from homestays, there are a few decent-looking places to stay near Bromo. The Plataran Bromo offers a higher end option, as does the Jiwa Jawa Resort.

GETTING TO MOUNT BROMO

The easiest way to get to Mount Bromo is by flying into Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport. From there, private cars or shared minibus can take you to Cemoro Lawang via Probolinggo.

I traveled to Cemoro Lawang from Yogyakarta by bus. It was a grueling journey that took 17 hours. Alternatively, you can take the train from Yogyakarta to Probolinggo. Had I known better, I would have opted to travel by rail.

WHEN TO VISIT MOUNT BROMO

The best time to visit Mount Bromo is during the dry season, which runs from May to October. During this time, lower levels of precipitation make for ideal hiking and sightseeing. Additionally, the skies tend to be clearer, offering unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains and the famous sunrise.

I visited the Mount Bromo Volcano in June. During my visit, I experienced both the pros and cons of travel in the high season: good weather, and intense crowds.

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Indonesia is a land of fire. It is raw and wild and full of drama.

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park is one of the most remarkable places to visit in Indonesia. Alongside the volcanoes of Kawah Ijen, Mount Merapi and the Dieng Plateau, it showcases the island’s turbulent volcanic legacy.

The logistics around our visit to Mount Bromo weren’t ideal. We were exhausted from an uncomfortable 17 hour bus ride and had just stayed in the filthiest hotel I’d ever set foot in.

And still, my memories of Mount Bromo are overwhelmingly positive.

In fact, witnessing the Mount Bromo sunrise was so magical, that I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the experience again and again and again—bus ride and all.

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When people think of Indonesia, their imaginations usually take them straight to Bali and its abundance of ornate Hindu temples.

But high up in Dieng Plateau of Central Java, a much more off-the-beaten path adventure awaits that can be equally rewarding.

The name “Dieng” means Abode of the Gods and there are clusters of ancient temples—most dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries—that sit nestled in the area’s verdant hillsides.

In the Dieng Plateau, the cultural and geographical riches rival those you’ll see in Bali.

But there’s one major difference: you won’t find the crowds.

DIENG PLATEAU IN JAVA

The Dieng Plateau sits high in the mountains of Java. The area is home to sparkling turquoise lakes, craters spewing sulphuric gases and some of the oldest Hindu architecture in Indonesia.

Our Dieng Plateau day trip took us through lush mountainsides boasting tremendous natural beauty.

As we made our way out of Yogyakarta’s chaotic traffic, we began snaking our way up precipitous mountain roads. Along the drive, I gaped at the rows of rice fields, the sweeping vistas, and the picture-perfect villages clinging to the terraced hillsides.

Since Java’s population density ranks as one of the highest in the world, farmers have taken advantage of every inch of arable land by carving terraces into the mountainsides.

The Dieng Plateau’s rich volcanic soil makes the area ideal for farming and growing crops. Potato and tobacco plantations lie draped over the plateau’s mountainous landscape like a patchwork quilt.

It is an incredible area and I’m surprised it has managed to dodge the hoards of backpackers that descend on the Banana Pancake Trail every year.

VISITING THE DIENG PLATEAU IN ONE DAY

A Dieng Plateau day trip was not part of my original Indonesia itinerary.

Yet, when my travel companion’s bout of food poisoning forced us to stay in Yogyakarta for an extra day, I decided to explore the surrounding countryside with a friendly Brit from my hostel.

The plateau was merely a blip on my radar, so I didn’t think twice about spending only one day in its mist-shrouded highlands.

Despite the area’s proximity to Yogyakarta, however, I soon learned that the Dieng Plateau takes a while to reach. During our day trip, we clocked in nearly four hours of driving each way. I only recommend visiting the area as a day trip if you are short on time.

If you have a flexible enough itinerary to do the area justice, I would suggest spending at least two days in the Dieng Plateau.

• TWIN LAKES: TELAGA WARNA AND TELAGA PENGILON

An undeniable highlight of the area is the scenic trail that winds around the twin lakes of Telaga Warna and Telaga Pengilon (known to foreigners as Mirror Lake and Color Lake).

We payed the $7 tourist fee and hiked the trails around the lakeshore. From a rocky ledge above the lakes, we had a spectacular view of the adjacent bodies of water.

On a sunny day, Color Lake reveals shades of yellow, blue, turquoise and brown, while Mirror Lake’s glassy surface reflects a perfect image of the sky.

All around, a velvety patchwork of saturated colors forms a scenic backdrop.

• KAWAH SIKIDANG CRATER

The next stop on our Dieng Plateau day trip was a visit to the steaming Kawah Sikidang Crater.

Java lies along the Pacific’s Ring of Fire and the island is almost entirely of volcanic origin. It contains 45 active volcanoes—including majestic Mt Bromo and Kawah Ijen. These volcanoes have played a vital role in the geological and human history of Java and have contributed greatly to the island’s fertile soil.

While the Kawah Sikidang Crater is small in comparison to some of Java’s other geological sites, it is well worth visiting. The area is reminiscent to a miniature version of America’s Yellowstone, or Iceland’s Haukadalur.

A trail takes visitors past rows of food stalls to the main fumaroles and mud pots in the area. Typical of geologically active sites, the air around the crater smells of sulfur. I soon realized that the flimsy medical face masks we had bought at the entrance to the park would do little to diffuse the pungent smell of rotting eggs.

So we plugged our noses and walked around the steaming craters–admiring the greens and oranges and grays of the surrounding scenery.

• ARJUNA TEMPLE COMPLEX

The plateau is home to a small cluster of Hindu temples. While estimates suggest that the temples once numbered in the hundreds, only eight remain today. The temples show many features of Indian Hindu temple architecture.

Entrance to the Sikidang Crater includes a visit to the nearby Arjuna Complex. The Arjuna Temple Complex is not as imposing as that of Prambanan. Nor is it as ornate as the Hindu temples found in Bali.

Yet, the area’s small concentration of shrines predates most other religious structures in Indonesia.

The temples that lie nestled among the Dieng Plateau’s potato fields are the oldest ruins in Java. Estimates suggest that they date back to the 7th and 8th centuries.

TOURISM IN THE DIENG PLATEAU

After staying largely on the tourist trail during my visits to Singapore and Yogyakarta, traveling through the picturesque mountain villages of the Dieng Plateau brought me an off-the-beaten-path experience I craved.

In fact, during my entire Dieng Plateau day trip, I only saw one other Western traveler. The majority of tourists in the area were groups of Indonesian families and schoolchildren who were eager to take our photos and get their own pictures taken in return.

There really isn’t a ton of information on independent travel to the Dieng Plateau. If you’re looking to organize something in advance, you can find various bookable tours online. These excursions from Yogyakarta to the Dieng Plateau run between $30-70 per person and all cover the same stops that I visited during my day trip.

I was able to organize a day trip to the plateau through my hostel. For about $40 per person, my travel companion and I hired a private driver who took us around the area’s top tourist sites for the day.

WHERE TO STAY IN THE DIENG PLATEAU

Most visitors to the Dieng Plateau choose to stay in either Dieng or Wanosobo. The area has a limited number of accommodation options, most of which are homestays.

Pondok Bamboo Sendangsari, bookable online, appears to be a decent homestay option between Wanosobo and Dieng. Homestay Banteng Adventure also looks basic, yet promising.

From what I understand, a number of other options exist that are not searchable or bookable online.

*****

My Dieng Plateau day trip from Yogyakarta was not planned. It wasn’t pre-booked or mapped out or anticipated in any way.

In fact, before visiting Indonesia, I never even knew the volcanic, mist-shrouded region existed.

Yet it is for discoveries like the Dieng Plateau, that I like to keep my travel plans relatively open-ended. For you never know what unexpected destinations you might discover by chance or word of mouth.

Had I stuck to a rigid plan, I probably would never had made it to the Dieng Plateau.

And that would have been a shame.

Because the mist-shrouded off-the-beaten-path destination in Central Java ended up being one of my favorite places in all of Southeast Asia.

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