View From The Top

View From The Top

Hiking isn't really my thing, it's all because my physical condition towards cold weather and higher ground.  I always had trouble breathing. My nose is always stuffy so I had to breathe with my mouth. Therefore I don't like to go to the mountain. I'd rather be at the beach but the beauty of of Kawah Ijen caught my attention, so I decided I have to go there. 

It took two hours flight from Jakarta to Surabaya then I had to continued my trip by car for six hours. It really is a tiring journey but it was fun.

Kawah Ijen, is a stratovolcano that sits at its highest point at 2799 meter. It last erupted in 2002 and has remained active ever since continually spewing out sulfur at one edge of the crater. It also constructed  over 20 km wide Ijen caldera, the largest caldera in Java. 

Kawah Ijen is also known as the largest lake of acid on earth. It contains nearly 1 KM wide turquoise color, acid crater lake.  

It took a lot of effort to reach Kawah Ijen by hiking. The terrain is very heavy with a distance of 3 kilometers and a sharp incline at an angle of 100 degrees and slippery road conditions. As I walked higher through the top the more I feel heavier to move my legs. 

Path to Kawah Ijen

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Over the past few years Kawah Ijen became more attractive for tourists all around the world. A dramatic blue flames appear at crater that only visible at night, makes Ijen more interesting. These blue flames were found by French photographer Olivier Grunewald who snapped a dramatic  photo showcase blue flames that result from burning sulfur. 

Exposed to the oxygen present in air and sparked by lava, the sulfur  burn readily and its flames bright blue. There is so much sulfur making it seem as though blue lava is spilling down the mountainside. During night I could see the mountain's sulfur miners working. 

They had to deal with heavy smoke of sulfur without any face mask that actually danger for their own health. The sulfur is contains an acidic gases that whirled constantly in the crater. Miners can carry between 60 kilogram and 80 kilogram of sulfur chunk per trip.

When the night came It was an absolute darkness, freezing cold, desolate and sulphuric smoke fill the landscape.Under a stunning starry sky I pulled out my torch and face masks  as I walked cautiously down the rocks into the crater. The smoke was so thick that makes me harder to breath and to see. But It was worth it. I could see great phenomenon ahead.

Here Comes The sun

After seeing the blue flames I went up straight to the edge of  Kawah Ijen to witness the sunrise. Starting around 5 am the landscape slowly came into view. That time I could see mountains and see through across the sea. The morning sun signifies a new day has came and it was a spectacular view. I was completely mesmerised not just the view but the landscape that I could see it now.