Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

Understand

This national park is named after two volcanoes — Mount Semeru (Gunung Semeru), the highest in Java at 3,676 m; and Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo), the most popular — and the Tengger people who inhabit the area.

Mount Semeru, also known as Mahameru ("Great Mountain"), is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes. What stands out most about this mountain is that it erupts reliably: every 20 min or so, the volcano belches out a huge cloud of steam and smoke, sometimes interspersed with ash and stones. Climbing Mount Semeru requires some planning and a permit from the national park authority. The mountain is often closed due to its highly active nature. Mount Bromo (2,329 m) is easily recognized as the entire top has been blown off and the crater inside constantly belches white sulphurous smoke. It sits inside the massive Tengger caldera (diameter approximately 10 km), surrounded by the Laut Pasir (Sea of Sand) of fine volcanic sand. The overall effect is unsettlingly unearthly, especially when compared to the lush green valleys all around the caldera. With more than 500,000 tourists a year, Bromo is full with tourists in school holidays and long holidays (at least 4 days), because about 95 percent of the tourists are domestic tourists, so avoid these times. The major access point is Cemoro Lawang (also Cemara Lawang — blame the East Javanese accent!) at the northeastern edge of the caldera, but there are also trails from Tosari (northwest) and Ngadas (southwest). The village of Ngadisari, on the road from Probolinggo about 5.5 km before Cemoro Lawang, marks the entrance to the national park. Cemoro Lawang and Ngadisari are rather picturesque, with brightly-painted houses and flower beds outside. Every year, starting in January, climbing Semeru is prohibited for several weeks (usually more than a month) to allow the vegetation to recover.

The Tenggerese

The area in and around the park is inhabited by the Tenggerese, one of the few significant Hindu communities left on

Getting there

Mount Bromo is perhaps the most accessible of Java's active volcanoes and for that reason it gets a lot of domestic tourists, often in package groups. It is also a popular destination for high school groups who camp in the area. Visitors seeking a quiet appreciation of the park should avoid major domestic holiday periods. That being said, this is a large park and most of the crowds are at a few specific viewpoints at a few specific times.

By plane The nearest major airport is in Surabaya (SUB IATA), three to four hours away by car (and more by bus). Surabaya is well served by regular domestic flights from Jakarta and Bali and some other countries in Asia. Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport (MLG IATA) at Malang is a small regional airport with flights from Jakarta and Denpasar, Bali with access from here makes sense if you intend to enter the park via the Tumpang/Ngadas route.

By road There are three established routes into the park.

The Probolinggo → Ngadisari Route (Cemoro Lawang and Mount Bromo) The nearest large town is Probolinggo, on the north coast of Java about 45 km as the crow flies from the park (but it feels a lot further). This is by far the most common route used to access the park as it is the most straightforward (but not necessarily the most interesting). About 6 km west of Probolinggo on the main coastal highway, turn south at the village of Ketapang. From there the road snakes up for 40 km through Sukapura (not a bad idea to stay the night here as the hotels are good) to Ngadisari and finally Cemoro Lawang on the edge of the caldera. Total journey time about 1 hour and 30 minutes. From Probolinggo Train Station:

The official way to get to Bayuangga bus terminal is with a public bus, small and yellow, with a "D" on front. However, since the area around there was reportedly under mafia control (or perhaps the buses themselves?), the driver can be unwilling to stop there, instead dropping you off around a km (a 30 minute walk) away. You can try sa

Getting around

From the village of Cemoro Lawang, you can easily hike up Mount Bromo and Mount Penanjakan and the best time to do this is pre-dawn. Villagers offer horseback rides to the top of Mount Bromo or go around in the caldera with tariff Rp100,000 to Rp150,000, depends on your haggle and the horse, but in off-season January till end of March the tariff is Rp100,000. You can also hire a jeep to take you around the area (about Rp350,000 for one jeep ride in the caldera). The whole area is a hiker's dream though — walk if you possibly can. The park operates vehicular transport options, for the official prices of Rp350,000 for 2 locations; usually one of the Pananjakan viewpoints and the parking area towards Mount Bromo, or Rp750,000 for 4 locations. Be wary of hawkers offering "guided" trips for up to twice as much. The official driver provided are locals and usually have good knowledge. Feel free to ask drivers at any time to stop for photos or ask questions. Visitors may also bring their own vehicles; alternatively, guides can also be rented on motorbike to guide you around. A tour 4WD can fit up to 6 people.

See

The Bromo Caldera The much photographed view of steaming Mount Bromo surrounded by the Sea of Sand, its rather serene neighbour Mount Batok and mighty Mount Semeru as the southern backdrop, is one of the great images of Indonesia.

The huge, unearthly moonscape of a caldera known as the Sea of Sand (Pasir Lautan). The crater of 1 Mount Bromo is tinged with sulphur and always bubbling and smouldering. Due to eruptive activity, access may be limited. From Cemoro Lawang, head down the ramp into the caldera and towards the parking area near the Hindu temple (Poten) at the foot of the mountain. Behind the temple, take the muddy track, on foot or on horseback, a steep 250-step staircase up to the edge of the crater. There's a ledge at the top with a railing in poor condition. Gaze into the steaming crater, while trying not to huff a whiff of volcanic gas. A trail leaves the ledge to the east, along the meter-wide crater rim.

2 Mount Batok (2,440 m) is a brown volcano at the north centre of the caldera. Unlike the other nearby peaks it is no longer active and actually has some vegetation growing on it, mostly casuarina (cemara) trees that somehow manage to survive even on volcanic ash. 3 The Poten (Luhur Poten Temple Of Mount Bromo). This is the Tenggerese Hindu temple that sits looking eerily beautiful in the sea of sand close to Mount Bromo. There is something quite magical about this place and the frugality of its decoration and austere design seems very appropriate for the location. Easily found, you really cannot miss it. The savannah fields (padang savanna) around towards the southern side of the main Bromo crater. A tour around to the savannah fields is often included as part of a trip in a hired jeep. Alternatively, one can hike around to the fields (around 5 km from main Bromo starting point at Cemoro Lawang). 4 Teletubbies Hill is one of them.