The Majestic of Mount Bromo

10 of us were very ambitious to visit 2 mountains in 2 days.

so right after Mount Ijen, we rest awhile, and drive immediately to Mount Bromo. The journey from Bondowoso to Mount Bromo is about 4 hours drive. Same distance from Surabaya airport.

Mount Bromo is located in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. a part of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. with a height of 2,770 above the sea levels, just slightly shorter than Mount Ijen.

What do to there ?

Sight-seeing of course! haha.. To see a beautiful panoramic of the mountains, and dramatic landscape view from the Top of Mount Bromo.

OR

if you have this adventurous spirit, you can hike up to Semeru ! they said the hike is about 3 days 2 nights for normal Asian people to climb up.. and about 2 days 1 night for Fit Caucasian.. haishh.. definitely not my forte for now. haha.. but they said the hike now can be easier, by hiring a porter and a cook. so, they will bring and put up the tent, put up the portable toilet, and they will cook for you as well for the whole 3 days.. all you got to do is just to hike up that mountain. haha..

OR

IF you are ultra-fit,  you can do 100 Ultra Run Race, or the other word is, Mountain Marathon Run! *goshh.. as i know they have 3 categories, 50km, 100km, and 165km.. *faint.. apparently they do this to many mountains in the world, and Bromo is one of it.

OR

For you Jazz enthusiast, you can catch ‘Jazz Gunung’ or Jazz concert on Mount Bromo. This is a yearly event since 2009.

Where Did we go ? OR what place you must visit when you are in Bromo ? 

– Jeep Ride! 

Well, actually this is something that you must ride, cause you cannot go there by normal cars. Normally all the Jeep will start to go up at 3am. Most hotels and home-stays will have a Jeep and a driver to rent out. so not to worry for the transport. A jeep can fit to 5 people, and you can share it with other visitors also if you dont mind. The Jeep cost about RP 300.000-400.000 / trip.

– Viewpoint / Penanjakan

Normally it’s the first place to go to see the Sunrise!

After 30 mins of Jeep Ride, you must go down and walk up to the Viewpoint. The distance is about 1km. There will be many ‘ojek’ / motorcycle taxi once you got down from the Jeep. Just be-careful because it’s so many of them and the road is so narrow. Ojek Cost is about RP 10.000-20.000 one way.

When we reach the Viewpoint, the sky is rather cloudy =(.. so we cant see the sunrise much.. and we decided to go off from there immediately.. or else it will be so darn crowded to go down to find your Jeep.

– Mount Bromo / Bromo Crater

This is the place to see a dramatic landscape and great panoramic mountain view. We need to walk about 1-2km to reach the crater. if you want easier way, you can ride a horse as well. me and 2 other friends tried to ride the Horses, but i was so scared that i will fell off from the horse. haha.. the trail is not bumpy.. just that there are some uphil an downhil that scare me so much. haha. so i hold tightly to the horse-handle, and end up i did not enjoyed the scenery at all =(..  *dulu sok2an mau belajar horseback riding.. ini naik bromo aja gw takut. muahhaha*

If you go by horse, it only take about 15 mins to reach the peak. If you are walking, it takes about 30-45 mins? depends on your pace. After you reached a hill, you need to climb up 198 stairs to get to the peak of Bromo, where you can see the Bromo crater. Not to worries if you got tired, there are a few stalls that sells water, instant noodle and coffee/tea when you reached the hill. There are a few pit-stops also if you got tired in climbing up the stairs.

and only 1 thing that i can say from up there, it was AWESOME!

and after you got back, you can enjoy a bowl of ‘Bakso’ / Meatballs. So nice to eat this warm local food while it’s cold out there. Bakso cost RP. 10.000 / bowl.

– Teletubbies hills (Bukit Telltubbies) / Savana

After the good food, we immediately go to Savana / Teletubbies Hill. For Nature Lovers, im sure you will love this greeneries pasture that seems no end.

– Sea of Sand / Pasir Berbisik

This Bromo land is so so unique. if Teletubbies hills are all full with greeneries, Whispering Sand are sea of sands. We never got down from our Jeep, because everyone was still very exhausted. so we decided to go back to our Hotel. But it is indeed a great place if you want to have some photo-shoot.

– Viewpoint II

Was so sad that we never go to Viewpoint II. People said it was quite a new view-point and it’s a better viewpoint, but still less people go to the second viewpoint. They call it Mount Kingkong, not sure why they name it ‘Gunung Kingkong’ haha. If i got a chance to go there again, surely im going to ask the jeep driver to go to this Viewpoint II.

 

Where to Stay ? 

– Actually you have an option not to stay in Bromo area. You can go from Surabaya / Malang at night, and reach Bromo around 2-3pm. Just a cheaper alternative.

– But if you want to stay and feel the cold breeze, there are many hotels and home-stays around there.. ranging from RP 200.000 – 1.000.000 / night. Please do your research or call the hotels first. because most of them dont have hot water for you to shower. If you have more money to spend, to can try to stay at Java Banana , The most expensive and the decent Hotel at Bromo.

And dont be shocked if the place that you are staying are full of Caucasians. That what happens to us. haha.. we were eating our diner at our hotel cafe, and we were like, ‘Where are we? it doesnt feel like we are in Indonesia.’ haha..

 

What to Eat ?

– Normally for lunch / dinner, most hotels or home-stays will have their own cafe.

– At Bromo itself, there’s a lot of local things to eat. Bakso / Meatball, Rojak / Fruit Salad with peanut gravy, Tahu Gejrot / Stinky Tofu with vinegar sauce, Siomay / Fishcakes with peanut gravy, Ketoprak / Rice Vermicilli with peanut gravy, Pop Mie / Instant Noodle, etc.

 

Tips

– Bring warm clothes, its cold up there (around 5 degree in the morning). I wore 3 clothes and 1 jacket. haha

– Dont go on weekend if you want to avoid crowds.

– Best Season is June – October, because it’s not rainy season.

– If you are renting a Car, ask them if the car price is inclusive gas, and toll charges.

– If you are signing up a tour package, as a few tours as they have different price even though they are offering same hotels and itinerary.

– Bring your own cloth to sleep in the hotel, because the bed and the blanket itself is very cold.

– Bring a mask. Dont know why when there’s a lot of Jeeps going up to Bromo, the gas smell is very strong.

– Bring More Cash. There’s no ATM up there.

– Bring you own shawl / gloves / beanie if you want to save money. The local people are selling the beanie and other items for RP 15.000 each. alternatively, you can buy from them also to support the local stuff and local people.

– Bring your own water. The water there can be quite expensive. The local people are selling around RP 10.000 / bottles

– Double check the horse price. Normally one way is about RP 50.000 and return trip is about RP 120.000.

 

* i got cheated by the horse guy. =(.. one of my friend already ride the horse up. then the rest of us were still thinking to ride or not. Then i decided to ride the horse.

Me : Bang, berapa kuda.nya ? // how much to ride the Horse?

Him : Samain aja Neng.. 125.000 kyk temen.nya.. // Rp 125.000, same price as your friend

Without hesitant, i immediately said OK and ride the horse. When i got down, suddenly i met the other friend who took the horse right after me.

Her : Jen.. gw capee. jadi gw naik kuda juga.. lu kena berapa ? // Jen.. im so tired, so i finally ride the horse too, how much did the guy charge you ?

Me : RP 125.000

Her : Mahal amat ?? Bolak balik // Why so expensive, is it return ?

Me : No, only 1 way.. =(

Then i met the other friend who went before me. He told me that his horse guy charged him RP 125.000 for return trip. huaaa.. there gone my money. haha.. but its okay.. i treat it as a blessings for the horse guy. =)

– The last and the most important Tips. JUST HAVE FUN !

 

Hopefully this is useful for you, who knows Bromo can be your first holiday choice for 2015. =)

**All photos are taken by Iphone 6, unedited. Only 2 pics edicted by VSCOcam. How i love my new phone. ❤

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