East Java: Volcanoes & Waterfalls

I crossed over from Bali to the island of Java by ferry. In East Java, I planned to indulge myself in terms of hiking and natural landscapes:

Mount Ijen:

At midnight, we were picked up by our guide, who took us to the mountain station. At just over 10 degrees Celsius, we had a hot tea before starting the two-hour hike under a clear starry sky to the edge of the crater. Once we reached the top, we descended into the volcano to see the blue sulfur flames. Then, we went up to 2,350 meters to watch the sunrise and for the first time, we could see the landscape and the turquoise mountain lake, which is known as the 'largest acid barrel in the world'.

Mount Bromo:

Mount #2 was located 200km to the west. This time, I rented a scooter and started at 3 am. Half frozen from the ride, I reached my starting point at 2,400 meters, so I reached the viewpoint at 2,650 meters in less than an hour to watch the sunrise. The view of the volcanoes was breathtaking, and it was crowned with an eruption of Mount Semeru.

Madakaripura Waterfalls:

Not far away, at the foot of the volcano, you can find this natural spectacle, which fortunately is only visited by a few tour operators. The water rushes down in several waterfalls from a height of 200 meters and stands out from all the other waterfalls I have ever seen :)

I am glad that my route unexpectedly led me to Indonesia because I can say that this week was the highlight of my trip!