Overview

Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo is one of Indonesia’s top tourist draws and probably Java’s most famous volcano. The 2.329 m high volcano with the blown off top is located in eastern Java and part of the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park.

Most people traveling Java decide to visit Mount Bromo as part of an organized tour which either starts in Yogyakarta or any of the nearby towns like Surabaya, Probolingo or Malang. Those tours normally include everything from transportation (a van shared with a handful of other travelers) to accommodation in the town of Cemoro Lawang (right next to Mount Bromo). The van will stop multiple times at eateries and will end at the Mount Bromo sunrise-viewpoint. Some of the tours continue to Kiawah Ijen afterwards and even all the way to Bali.

For people with a limited amount of time this can be a convenient way to visit those two sites without any bigger efforts. Just make sure you go with a reliable tour operator since it seems to be a common as well as annoying practice to stop somewhere outside Comoro Lawang. There are also reports about mysterious breakdowns on the way which cut into traveling time. Thus the minibus journey can easily take up to 13 uncomfortable hours when the promised air-conditioned luxury van turns out to be a 30-year-old clunker.