All countries have their own beautiful tourist spots. And so is Indonesia. Beside its famous island Bali, Indonesia also has magnificent mountains and volcanoes. One of them is Mount Bromo which is located in Tengger, East Java. But, it is not the highest peak in Indonesia, as that title goes to Mount Semeru, which is also in the same area. Bromo has a height of 2.329 meters (7.641 ft) while Semeru has a height of 3.676 meters (12.060 ft). Still, both peaks are most well known as one of the tourism spot in East Java. Though these two mountains known to still be active, still it couldn’t stop foreign and local tourists to go there! Including me!
Well, I’m going to tell you a little about the beauty of Mount Bromo. I went to Mount Bromo a few weeks ago and to be honest, it was my first time there! It is most well – known with its smoked – caldera and beautiful sunrise view in Mount Penjaringan viewpoint. But I guess that’s not what it is all about. I was impressed with all the green fresh surroundings along the way to the top. There were lots of fresh vegetables, tall trees and corns. The air is fresh for you to breath and all of that is something that you rarely get in busy cities (like Surabaya and Jakarta for example). It’s not only impressive but also relaxing and refreshing your eyes!
Besides all that, the local people there were very friendly. My family and I had to rent a jeep to go to Penjaringan viewpoint and the caldera on the next day. We were lucky to have such a friendly driver! He talked to us and told us some facts and a legend about Bromo. It was said that at the end of the 15th century princess Roro Anteng from the Majapahit Empire ruled over a district with her husband Joko Seger. They named it Tengger after the last syllables of their names. The district prospered, but the couple did not have children. In their despair, they climbed Mount Bromo to pray to the Gods, who granted them help, but requested the last child to be sacrificed to the Gods. They had 24 children, and when the 25th and last child Kesuma was born, Roro Anteng refused to sacrifice as promised. The gods then threatened with fire and brimstone, until she finally sacrificed the child. After the child was thrown into the crater, the voice of the child ordered the local people to perform an annual ceremony on the volcano, which is still held today.
Well… I’ll continue about my journey…
We arrived at our hotel around 4 pm. Our hotel has a simple traditional + modern minimalist style with a fabulous green view of the valley. It is Java Banana Café Hotel. It was built due to the idea of four (as far as I remember) artist who loved photography. So, they made a gallery and soon opened a café to support the financial. Then, they realized that the beautiful view of the surrounding is only a waste if visitors couldn’t enjoy it. So, they built a hotel with a mix concept of eastern and western style, and visitors can enjoy beautiful photos of Bromo, Semeru, Penjaringan and some other interesting places in the gallery at the lobby. They were all so hard to resists! (Promoting! Haha… )
Right… The next day, we planned to see sunrise at Penjaringan viewpoint. It’s hard to do it though, because you have to wake up as early as 3 am in order to get a good parking area there. There were so many people that you might not be able to get a good spot. It was very crowded too and the journey took about an hour or so and be careful not to get stuck on a long line of jeeps on the way there! That’s why we had to get up very early. We departed from our hotel around half past three on a 4 – wheels Hardtop Jeep. You can get an organized jeep tour there, so your driver will guide and get you to the interesting spot with a suitable fee (according to the places you’d like to visit). As for my family, we only took the package to Penjaringan to see the sunrise and the caldera of Bromo for only about Rp375.000. It was my first ride on a jeep and I really enjoyed it! I would love to go on a jeep again some day.
I went to the viewpoint only with my sister and my little brother. My parents hadn’t had enough sleep that night because it was so cold there, that they had no energy to walk up there. So they waited at a café not far from the parking area. While the three of us walked the way up and climbed the stairs to the viewpoint. We got up there around 4 am. We had to wait for the sun for more than half an hour! The sunrise should be around 4.30 – 5.30 am. But I don’t know why, that time, it felt as if the sun took longer than usual to rise. Maybe it is because of the waiting and the crowds around us. Well, the waiting moment was not a waste. The sunrise view was beautiful! I felt a tear dropped down on my cheeks as I watched the sunrise. I am so amazed how beautiful our nature is. All I could say was only, “Wow…” and nothing else.
Then after that, we went to Bromo to see the caldera. We went there by jeep and went to the top by horses. My horse was called Tender. He was trained since he was a pony and now he is already 7 years old. Tender is white and from Semboa. I was surprised when the owner told me that he was from Semboa! That’s a really far place… Tender didn’t take me up until the top, of course. He dropped me at the stairs, which I had to climb to get to the caldera. It was an absolutely high stairs! It is probably around 2.329 meters high, with thousands steps! We stopped twice on our way up there to take a breath. It was chilly. And whenever I looked down to the ground, my knee shook. I hate to admit it, but I am scared of height. But the long knee – shaking climbing was not a waste. The caldera was marvelous! There were smoke coming out of it and we were very excited! There were like long wall – fence to protect us from falling into the caldera. After a while, we went down. I personally didn’t want to be there any longer. It was too high and cold for me!
After a long memorable journey, we cleaned ourselves and had our breakfast at the hotel. Then after that, we took off. There was a nice waterfall there (I forgot the name…), but we didn’t go there because it was closed when we were there. Too bad…
Well… That’s my wonderful story in Bromo. If you ever have a plan on visiting Indonesia, don’t forget to stop by there! Relax yourselves with the peaceful surroundings and enjoy the sunrise view from the mountain’s top.
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