Being one of Indonesia’s most iconic and popular volcano, Mount Bromo stands at 2329m. It is still an active volcano and the last eruption was in 2016. Mount Bromo is easy to hike, thus making it a popular tourist destination. Here’s what you need to know about hiking in Mount Bromo, Indonesia.
Getting There
There are many ways to get to Mount Bromo, but the most common way is to fly to Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city after Jakarta. Being the second largest city in Indonesia, it is a hot spot for many international flights. We took a flight from Singapore to Surabaya and thereafter, met our private driver from Blue Flame Tours at the Arrival hall. We will share more about our experience with Blue Flame Tours later.
Our friendly driver drove us from Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport to HTM Guesthouse in Sukapura, a small town before Mount Bromo. The drive took about 5 hours, including pit stops for lunch and toilet breaks. HTM Guesthouse is a small decent place with clean rooms (15 rooms to be exact) and an attentive butler (maybe because we were the only ones staying there. Haha). We stayed at the guesthouse for a night as the next morning we had to embark on our hike at 3am.
Mount Bromo Sunrise Tour
Part 1: Sunrise
Before scaling Mount Bromo, we went to see the sunrise. A local jeep driver came to pick us up and took us to the viewpoints.
There are 3 sunrise points, namely Bukit Love, Bukit Kingkong and Bukit Penanjakan. Most tourists would head to either Bukit Love or Bukit Kingkong as the route up is well paved. So if you are intending to head to either of these two viewing points, be mentally prepared for crowds of people. For the more adventurous few, they would head to Bukit Penanjakan. To get to the sunrise point in Bukit Penanjakan, you will need to hike up.
For the both of us, we managed to find a private viewing point in between Bukit Kingkong and Bukit Penanjakan. To be honest, we lost our way after our jeep driver dropped us off. The jeep driver told us to just walk straight. However, with too many people scuttling around us, we missed the sign indicating Bukit Kingkong and got lost. Thankfully, we met a very nice local gentleman selling coffee who told us to go up a footpath in between the trees. He said the walk up would take 5 minutes.
The short walk up seemed scary, especially when you are walking in the dark, not knowing what’s next to come. After what felt like an eternity, we saw the secret spot. There was a small group of friends camping there too. We were very pleased with watching the sunrise at our private spot without hustling with others for a perfect snapshot of the sunrise. I must admit, this is a blessing in disguise.
Here’s some pictures of the beautiful sunrise overlooking Mount Bromo.
Part 2: Crossing the sand dunes
Once the sun was up, and we had taken countless photographs, we headed back to our jeep at 6am. Our driver then took us to the foot of Mount Bromo. The drive along the way to the foot of Mount Bromo is beautiful. Highly recommended that you stop at the side of the road to take a few shots and take in the view.
At the foot of Mount Bromo, do take note that the moment you step out of the jeep, hordes of horse men would crowd around you and spam you with prices they charge for mounting on their horses. Prices range from Rp 100,000 for 2 persons, one-way. However, we were determined to walk up to the peak of Mount Bromo and ignored the horse men. We were extremely reluctant to ride on the horses as they looked malnourished – skinny, foams coming out from their mouths and continuous chewing on the bridles, obvious signs of starvation. So if you are an animal lover like us, skip the horse ride and walk up. The walk through the sand dunes is worth the calories.
Walking up to the crater is completely doable even if you do not have excellent stamina. The first part of the route before the temple is flat, making it easy to walk. After the temple, there is a slight incline before you reach the steps to the top to Mount Bromo. This is the second part of the journey up. Here, you might want to have your scarves ready as sand will fly around with the horses and people walking around. If you think you might need a short coffee break, there are many make-shift stalls around so take your pick, sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee or instant noodles and catch your breath. Oh, and do get your toilet break here too.
Part 3: Scaling Mount Bromo
Before we knew it, we reached the steps leading to the top of Mount Bromo. Do not be intimidated by the stairs. Just take it as walking up a 4 storey building. As there were many people ahead of us when we climbed the stairs, there were frequent pauses. We took the time to catch our breath and continued on.
We were ecstatic the moment we reached the top of the stairs. The view was amazing and we could see the volcanic fumes drifting up. Most tourists would crowd around the area near the stairs but we suggest you move further in where there are lesser people and take your time to take photographs and soak in that “on-top-of-the-world” feeling.
Afterword
Comparing Mount Batur, Mount Ijen and Mount Bromo, Mount Bromo is the easiest among the 3 volcanoes in terms of ease of walking and elevation. If you are intending to scale Mount Bromo with children in tow, this would be a good volcano to venture to.
Do check out our Mount Batur and Mount Ijen adventures too.
Blue Flame Tour
A big shout-out to Blue Flame Tours for their excellent and warm service. We experienced Indonesian hospitality at its finest. Our private driver, Mr Mirza was very attentive to our needs and knew that when we were awake from our naps in the car, he would drive to safe petrol stations or mini marts for us to take toilet breaks. We met up with the boss of Blue Flame Tours, Mr Tony. A humble and sincere person, Mr Tony made sure that we enjoyed our trip and was well-taken care of. We could sense that each customer was important to him, and this warmed our hearts very much.
In terms of pricing, Blue Flame Tours has the most competitive and reasonable price as compared to other companies offering similar services. Therefore if you are thinking of exploring Mount Bromo or Mount Ijen, use Blue Flame Tours. Value for money and excellent service provided. The best of both worlds.