Hike Mount Bromo from Probbolingo
A Solid Base to Get Close to Lava
Mount Bromo is sometimes called the closest thing to Hell on Earth. Hikers walk the caldera of this active volcano, looking down to its bubbling mud pots, steaming vents, and its near endless stream of steam and smoke. Caught in the smell of sulfur, the primary thing you’ll notice is the loud constant rumbling coming from the pit underneath. It’s mind blowing.
Mount Bromo is located in Cemero Lawang, a small mountain village in East Java an hour away from Probbolingo. I decided to venture to Bromo on my own and stayed in Cemero Lawang for two nights - but I have to say I regret it. I found it difficult (both logistically and emotionally) to organize reasonably priced transit into and out of the city - and just hit too many hiccups to make it worth it. In addition, the hotels and hostels in Cemero Lawang generally don’t have internet booking, so you have to just get to the village and then figure it out once you’re there. At the end of my DIY trip, I paid about as much as I would have for a guided tour from Probbolingo with a lot more hassle.
Instead of taking my route, I’d recommend basing yourself in Probbolingo, the nearest major town which has both a train station and a bus station. Here, you can rent a car or motorbike if you want to make the trip on your own; I must warn you, the road up is windy and steep, so only do it if you’re comfortable on those roads in the vehicle you rent. The most common alternative is to join a jeep tour - which would pick you up around 2AM to make sure you get to Cemero Lawang in time for the sunrise.
The only major advantage of doing it on your own instead of taking a jeep tour, in my mind, is that you can wait to hike Mount Bromo after the jeeps have left (around 11AM) so that you can have the caldera yourself. You can decide for yourself if the added work is worth the seclusion; I don’t think it is, because the unfenced sections of the caldera are uncrowded even when all the keep tours are around. Either way, my summary below is the itinerary the Jeep tours will take, and the same itinerary that essentially every DIYer also follows.
Start the Morning with a Sunrise
Most visitors start their Bromo tour with a morning hike to a viewing spot overlooking Mount Bromo and the other volcanoes in the national park, and wait there for the sunrise colors to cast the entire area in an orange hue. The most popular viewing area is the Seruni View Point. That platform can get very crowded, though, so if you want more privacy you can walk a bit behind it and hike up King Kong Hill. You will find a lot of more secluded options along the trail. The path leading up to Seruni View Point also offers some good view points - but those will be more crowded as well.
The hike up to the viewing platform will be the most strenuous of the day, especially because of the early hour, but it’s still only a moderate intensity hike. The morning weather in Cemero Lawang can be unpredictable, so there’s a chance that fog will be so dense that you won’t have any visibility for the sunrise. That was the case on my hike.
Travel Across the Sea of Sand
The entire area around Mount Bromo is a caldera - a circular area of sunken land from an eruption about 8,00 years ago covered in black volcanic ash. Called the Sea of Sand, it is a sprawling protected reserve that offers some beautiful views of Mount Bromo and the surrounding volcanoes, as well as glimpses into the damage an eruption can cause (like the sunken paths of lava rivers).
Get as Close as Possible to Hell
The highlight of Mount Bromo is to hike up and walk around the caldera - which overlooks the grumbling, smoking, sulfur-rich, deep pit that is the active volcano. Sometimes referred to as hell on earth, Mount Bromo offers the rare chance to hear the sounds of an active volcano and to see clearly the heat and danger underlying them. It’s mind blowing.
The hike up Mount Bromo is easy, about 30 minutes without much elevation gain. In the morning, it’s extremely crowded with Jeep tours, but if you’re going it alone it clears up around 11AM and you can have it largely to yourself. (Don’t go too late, though, because the afternoon winds in Cemero Lawang catch the ash and obstruct views.) At the top of the hike, there’s a fenced viewing platform - but the best views come from the unfenced walkway (about three feet wide) that partially rims the caldera. For people with a fear of heights, like me, walking along is terrifying - but the views are worth it.
Enjoy the Natural Beauty Around Cemero Lawang
The mountainous region surrounding Mount Bromo, including along the main road to Cemero Lawang, is gorgeous. It may be easy to overlook because it gets overshadowed by Mount Bromo, but I recommend soaking in the surrounding area views as well.
