When my friend and I decided to travel to Java, we had no doubt that we wanted to experience Mount Bromo. After some truly wonderful days on the beautiful island of Karimunjawa, we continued on to the volcano, Mount Bromo. From Semarang, we took a train for about 4 hours to Surabaya.
While staying at Floating Paradise, we met a couple from Germany who had just experienced Mount Bromo. They gave us some great tips and actually recommended that we see the volcano in daylight, instead of leaving super early in the morning to see it at sunrise. We were very uncertain because we had read that the sunrise was supposed to be such a beautiful experience.
We ended up deciding to leave Surabaya around 8 in the morning, which meant we arrived at the volcano around 10. We might not have experienced it in the light of sunrise, but instead, we had the entire viewpoint to ourselves! Our guide told us that every night, about 1,000 four-wheel-drive vehicles head to the viewpoint. In comparison, we stood in complete tranquility and could admire the beautiful, majestic volcano all alone. Wow, it was amazing!
After the viewpoint, we drove back down to the front of Mount Bromo, where we could climb the volcano. Again, we practically had the area to ourselves, with only a few other guests. Reaching the top and looking directly down into the crater was incredible. I still can’t quite believe that I was so close to a volcano.
The colors in the landscape were so beautiful. They reminded me of when I was in Peru with my family, where we hiked the Rainbow Mountains. Gorgeous dusty earth tones—beige, brown, and green.
We were really happy with our decision to visit Mount Bromo in daylight. We avoided having to leave Surabaya at 11 p.m. to wait in line and reach the viewpoint along with thousands of others at 4:30 a.m. Instead, we had the peace to experience the wild nature—a fantastic experience!
Also read Packing list for Indonesia, Yogyakarta and 5 Days on Karimunjawa in Indonesia
