Ijen Crater, in the form of the largest acid crater lake in the world, located in East Java. Formed by twin volcanoes with Mount Merapi that has been extinguished. Ijen Crater is one of the most beautiful natural panoramas in Indonesia, at the bottom of the crater, sulfuric smoke is billowing, making the aroma around the crater smells of sulfur.
The crater is elliptical, due to the displacement of the crater pipe, measuring approximately 960 x 600 m, at an altitude of 2,148 m asl, and a depth of 200 m. Inside the crater of this mountain consists of sediment from the eruption waste. Cliffs surround the crater and if we want to go to the crater we have to go through the road around the cliffs which are usually traversed by sulfur miners. The Ijen Crater area is a plateau, consisting of the hills of Mount Merapi (2,799 m.dpl) which are located next to each other.
Night gets Blue Fire and Day gets Blue Sapir
Ijen Crater is the largest caldera in Indonesia, and until now the sulfur ore has been traditionally mined. The Ijen Caldera also has geothermal potential which can be used for electricity generation.
The Mount Ijen area can indeed be visited at night or during the day. There are two different characters that Ijen can achieve at night and day. At night, precisely at midnight at 00.00 you will get the beauty of the night sky that is so romantic with the sprinkles of stars shining from the galaxy. Not only that, other interesting natural phenomena in the form of blue fire or blue flames that surge from the crater can only be seen at night.
When the daytime comes, you will get a clear view of the blue sky with the enchanting lake of Ijen. The lake is very wide in the crater with a very high sulfur content, making the color of this lake beautiful in turquoise nuances or also called turquoise blue (English: Turquoise) is a blend of slightly greenish blue.
This color is the color of the ocean or ocean. The word turquoise comes from the French word for "Turkish", because turquoise was originally imported by Europeans through Turkey. Triplet hex code # 40E0D0, RGB (64, 224, 208) and CMYK (71, 0, 7, 12)
Transportation route to Ijen Crater
Towards Ijen Crater, there are two main routes, namely from the direction of Bondowoso-Wonosari and Banyuwangi-Licin. From the direction of Bondowoso the car can reach Pal Tuding which is the start of the climb, while from the direction of Banyuwangi we have to walk 4 hours from Jambu Village to reach Pal Tuding, because the asphalt road from Jambu to Pal Tuding is being made.
Transportation from Bondowoso
From Sempol we head to Pal Tuding which is 13 km away, the trip takes 30 minutes by vehicle. Since there are no public transportation, to save time, it is recommended to rent a vehicle from Wonosari or Sempol to Pal Tuding. On the way to Pal Tuding, we pass through vast grasslands and coffee plantations.
At Pal Tuding we have to report our ascent to PHPA officers, and buy an entry sign. We can stay at this PHPA post for a modest fee, as well as rent sleeping bags if needed. It is recommended to stay at this PHPA Post, or in Sempol, because the trip to Ijen Crater is only 2 hours from Pal Tuding.
From Pal Tuding the journey continues uphill across a fairly wide road with beautiful natural forest views. It takes 1.5 hours, then we will arrive at the Sulfur Mining Lodge. This cottage was made an office to collect the sulfur products obtained from the crater. In this place we can buy drinks and snacks. From this cottage, it only takes another 0.5 hours through a flat road, we will arrive at Ijen Crater.
Transportation from Banyuwangi
From the city of Banyuwangi, we head to the Sasak Perot / Banjarsari terminal by taking a bemo. From Sasak perot, we change to a minibus to the Licin route. From Licin village we headed towards Sodong via Guava by taking a plantation truck or motorcycle taxi and it could also be by traveling because the roads are easy to pass by vehicles.
Travel through coffee and clove plantations and beautiful tropical forests. The distance from Licin to Sodong is 8 km (2.5 hours). After arriving at Sodong we continue our journey again to Paltuding by truck / motorcycle taxi. Paltuding is a meeting place for routes passing from the direction of Bondowoso and the direction of Banyuwangi.
If you have enough time, if you start the journey from the direction of Bondowoso, it is recommended to go down to Banyuwangi, in addition to easier public transportation in Jambu, you can also enjoy beautiful natural forest views along the journey from Pal Tuding to Jambu, as well as enjoy the natural scenery of the Bali Strait coast. in Banyuwangi - Ketapang with sloping beaches.
From the ridge of the crater as far as the eye can see we can see the mountains around it clearly, on the left we look at Mount Padak, Mount Widodaren (2,601 masl) and on the right we look at Mount Merapi (2,800 masl).
From Banyuwangi we can continue our journey to Baluran or Alas Purwo National Park to see the largest habitat in Java for Wild Buffalo, Deer and Bull. We can also continue our journey to the island of Bali.
The Ijen Crater area has a very beautiful natural panorama. The temperature around the Ijen crater can reach 12 - 18 C and the rainfall reaches 3,000 - 4,000 mm / year. Around the slopes of the crater lay the Manisrejo tree with reddish leaves, while the rocks on the walls of the crater are sulfur-colored, yellowish, these conditions make the natural panorama here so impressive to enjoy.
Ijen Crater is a tourist destination that is quite challenging. To arrive there, we have to go through inclines and winding roads as far as 3 km. Some preparations are needed, such as mountain shoes, jackets, masks and of course excellent physical condition.
Some things that need to be prepared for your perfection come to Ijen Crater
- Sebaiknya datang pada dini hari dan menanjaklah sebelum fajar meninyingsing untuk mendapatkan gambaran blue fire secara langsung. Perlu memperhitungkan durasi perjalanan yang harus ditempuh, prediksi 3 jam untuk menempuh 3 km sangat cukup bagi yang jarang jalan kaki.
- Bagi pemula, akan lebih nyaman dan aman jika membawa pemandu yang tentu saja sudah hafal terhadap medan yang akan ditempuh. Tersedia juga jasa tandu yang diusung oleh 4 orang pulang pergi.
- Ketika sudah sampai puncaknya, tunggulah saat fajar menyingsing, pastikan Anda menyaksikan keindahan ronda mentari pagi di sudut timur Kawah Ijen, saat matahari muncul sempurna keindahan telaga juga dapat Anda nikmati.
- Gunakan jaket, masker, topi rajut dan tentu saja sepatu khusus untuk mendaki agar lebih nyaman sepanjang pendakian.
- Jangan lupa bawa air minum secukupnya, Anda cukup membawa tas kecil (daypack) jika diperlukan.
- Pastikan Anda dalam kondisi fit, tidak memiliki resio penyakit jantung dan penyakit berat lainya, apalagi asma atau paru-paru. Bagi beberapa orang yang sensitif asap belerang yang keluar dari kawah sangat mengganggu kesehatan.
- Bawalah kamera, karena setiap momen di perjalanan pendakian Anda akan sangat berharga.
- Bawalah penerangan berupa lampu senter minimal satu untuk dua orang karena area pendakian sangat gelap jika kebetulan tidak nampak bulan. Melangkahlah secara perlahan namun konsisten. Tidak perlu berlari, namu terus berjalan dalam langkah kecil untuk menghindari Anda dari kehabisan tenaga secara cepat.
- Bawa uang secukupnya saja. Di saat pendakian Anda bisa menemukan warung sekedar untuk melepas lelah atau uang tersebut bisa Anda gunakan untuk membeli kerajinan belerang yang cukup cantik sebagai buah tangan.