Peeking into an active volcano
“You’ll need to start at 2AM to get there on time for sunrise,” said the hotel owner.
2AM? We were less than 30 km from the crater. Why would it take so long?
We soon realized why. It was a long weekend, and people would throng the place.
“There is an option though,” the hotel owner continued. “You could go to Seruni point, not the usual Kingkong hills. It’s a new view point and not as crowded. You can leave at 3AM if you go there.”
We took his advice and decided to set out for the alternate view point. Little Rey demurred a bit in the morning, but Sudha told him we were going in a 4x4 jeep and he jumped up, all set to go.
Even at 3AM, there was a huge convoy of jeeps making their way towards Mt. Bromo.
Mt Bromo’s name comes from Brahma, and is an active volcano situated towards the East of Java island in Indonesia. The surrounding region is home to Hindus for centuries, and many Hindu myths have found home here.
Mt. Bromo falls in the Tennger mountain range, and is part of the famous Pacific Ring of Fire — an area with a high level of seismic activity. It is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, and has erupted many times, the last being in 2016.
Mt. Bromo, as we learnt that morning, is also a tourist magnet for its amazing sunrise views.
We had to park over a km away from Seruni point due to the number of jeeps that had parked on the roads ahead. We opted to walk up, rather than ride a horse or pillion on the dirt bikes that were the only taxis allowed.
Was this worth it? Absolutely!
We reached the sunrise point at 4:30AM, just about 15 minutes before the sun peeked over the horizon. The point itself offered great views of three mountains — the central one was Mt. Batik, which is dormant. To its left was the famous Mt. Bromo. And just behind was Mt Sumeru, named after Mount Meru, the mountain in Hindu mythology used for churning the ocean to get Amrit — divine nectar.
The mountains seemed to be floating in mist; so great was the cloud cover. Clouds floated over Mt Bromo’s caldera, making it look as if it was erupting in slow motion. As the sun rose, it painted the scene in golden light.
“Next,” said our guide, “we go to the volcano.”
Despite its activity, Mt Bromo is also a popular spot to trek to. It is surrounded by nearly 10 sq km of black volcanic ash, largely bereft of any vegetation.
We parked about a km away from the base of the mountain. If we were keen to go ahead, we had to walk. Sudha and I were keen, and Little Rey spotted horses on which he could take a ride. We didn’t want to risk him climbing up, so struck a deal — we’d walk together till the base of the mountain, and he would get back alone on the horse (and it’s keeper) to the jeep and wait with our guide.
As we walked, we noticed the path to the crater involved walking through dusty roads, followed by a set of about 250 steps built into the mountain.
At the base, Little Rey turned back to go to the jeep, and Sudha and I trudged along. The road was dusty, and horses carrying other tourists threw it up in the air. We had to stop often to catch our breath, or to step out of the way of the horses.
The climb up can also be strenuous, but there are thoughtful stops along the way where one could rest for a few minutes before proceeding further.
But the experience at the top was worth it. Mt Bromo does not keep spewing lava all the time. But due to the intense heat the base, there is a lot of steam that gushes out of the caldera.
What’s amazing is that there is a small shrine to Lord Ganesha at the lip of the crater.
As per locals, this temple was first setup over 700 years ago by their ancestors. They started worshipping Ganesha to calm the volcano, a practice that exists even today.
Our guide told us that the original statue was destroyed in 2010, but the local population replaced it with another one and continued their worship.
Truly, faith can move mountains, and maybe even calm a volcano.
