•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

At the summit of Gunung (Mount) Ijen in Banyuwangi, East Java, near Gunung Merapi and Gunung Raung and within the Ijen nature tourism preserve, sits the crater lake Kawah Ijen.

Travelers can reach the 20-kilometer-wide turquoise lake, lying at 2,368 meters above sea level, through either of two roads. The first route goes through Bondowoso, around 70km to the east of the mountain, while the second goes through Banyuwangi, around 38km to the west. Public transportation is available on either route but, as it tends to be erratic and the trip is long, visitors usually rent a car and driver instead. More people choose to take the asphalt-paved first route, instead of the unpaved second that has many steep sections.

After breakfast at Cemoro Lawang (the village nearest Mount Bromo), we began our seven-hour trip to Kawah Ijen. Throughout the ride, we were treated to views of cool, green Arabica coffee plantations, pine forests and the dense virgin forest of Ijen-Merapi nature reserve. In the forest canopy, long-tailed black monkeys swung from branch to branch.

Finally we arrived at the Catimor Homestay, an inn that dates back to the Dutch colonial era now owned by the PTP Nusantara XII coffee plantation at Blawan and is within the plantation’s housing complex.

I was eager to see the two-color, 30-meter Blawan waterfalls, not far from our lodging. From a distance, we could clearly see the different colors in the dense curtain of the falls. Some of the water comes from a sulfurous spring that flows from Kali Pahit (Bitter Creek), making the water a murky brown. When it meets cool clear water to form a mountain stream, the color difference is striking, making the waterfall truly unique. Near the falls, tourists can relax by soaking in hot, sulfurous water in a facility managed by the local government.

Tourists intending to visit Ijen Crater are advised to leave very early in the morning, because later in the day the crater is often blanketed in a fog containing sulfur fumes from the lake — the sulfur not only makes it difficult to see and breathe, but can be dangerous to people’s health.

The chilly 5 a.m. air did not discourage us as we set out for Paltuding, a forestry post at the foot of the Merapi-Ijen mountains, only 20 minutes from our inn.

With a tour guide, we climbed up toward the crater lake, which is 200 meters deep and holds 40 million cubic meters of water. The water is extremely acidic, with a Ph level of 0 — strong enough to dissolve clothing and even flesh. Our guide told us that the lake once claimed the life of a French tourist who ignored his tour leader’s advice and plunged into the water.

As we trudged along, we passed a number of traditional sulfur miners carrying chunks of solid sulfur in bamboo baskets on shoulder poles. Each carried between 60-90 kilograms, for which they would be paid Rp 500 per kilogram by a cosmetic factory near the Paltuding forestry post.

Though our climb was tiring, we were consoled by spectacular views, with glorious Merapi and Raung in the distance. Travelers need to be fit to visit Kawah Ijen — the trail we took to reach the sulfur weighing station, known as “Pos Bundar,” was at a constant uphill grade, and we had to stop several times to catch our breath.

After an hour and a half of walking, we arrived at the post, another relic of the Dutch period, where sulfur miners weigh their burdens.

After walking for another half hour, we reached the crater rim and were greeted by a stunning view of turquoise water, wreathed in fog from the dense sulfur fumes.

Inside the crater, near the water surface, miners collect the solid sulfur. A narrow trail weaves down the steep walls of the caldera. The closer you get to the crater, the denser the fumes become. Visitors are strongly advised to cover their nose and mouth with a damp neckerchief to reduce the amount of sulfur they inhale.

We sat on the rim and gazed at the beauty of Ijen’s crater. Though the sun was shining brightly, it was quite chilly at around 13 degrees Celsius, and can drop as low as 2 degrees at night. Contemplating the dense fumes and steep, narrow trail, we decided not to go down to the lake but made do with the dazzling view of crater lake, which, from where we were, looked like pure jade.