15 Aug 2025
Day 1 started very relaxed. Our driver Herry picked us up from our hotel in Surubaya and we went straight to the Madakaripura waterfall. At the waterfall parking lot we were taken on mopeds within 5 minutes to the starting point where we left with our guide. The waterfall was beautiful and it was a lot of fun to wade through the water. Rain ponchos can be obtained there for little money, otherwise rain jacket and bathing suits are advantageous.
After that we stayed near Mountain Bromo for one night in a beautiful hotel, with an excellent breakfast. Breakfast was only available after our tour on Mt. Bromo. That's where we left at 2 in the morning. We recommend taking a snack for the early hours. Herry has provided us with water and always made sure that we sleep a little more in the car.
Also on Mt. Bromo we had a great time. A very dear jeep driver took us as far up as possible. The last 300 meters we walked alone to the viewpoint on the King kong hill.
The next hotel was on its way to Mt. Ijen. Also beautiful, we spent the afternoon by the large pool to rest, because at midnight we already continued to Mt. Ijen. Herry drove us there again safely and quickly.
At the parking lot he handed us over to our guide Lele (pronounced Lily).
First you have a climb to the crater, which is easy to manage. Afterwards, the migration to the Blue flames entered the crater. This is definitely more demanding and should only be done if you are fit enough. However, our guide Lele was really great and we felt very safe and supported with him. It radiates a calmness that has jumped to us.
Since we did not have to share Lele with anyone, we had a big advantage in the descent. We have seen many larger groups with less support.
Our big highlights were the sunrise at the viewtop, because we still saw after we were in the crater and Lele's stories about the mine work and his own experiences.
Mt. Creating Ijen was a great achievement for us and we are remembered very positively and gratefully thanks to the great leadership of Lele.
Finally, we would like to thank Herry and Lele once again for making this experience so unique and beautiful for us. Since this tour was designed with a lot of heart and unique personalities in mind, we would like to recommend it to you, as it became a core memory of our trip and showed us a different side of Indonesia that we would not have otherwise known.