17 Jun 2025
We had a fantastic trip to the Ijen blue fire volcano crater. Our excellent guide Rury and his driver picked us up at 12:30 AM at our homestay, and we drove to the Ijen volcano national park. We then had some short refreshments, and when the national park opened at 2 AM, we made our way with Rury to the top of the volcano crater. We then put the gas masks that Rury supplied us with, ready to wear at the first scent of hydrogen sulfide, and then went over the edge of the crater. We climbed down to where the sulfur vents are at the bottom of the crater next to the lake, and we had a most spectacular view of the blue fire there. We got a bunch of pictures and then went back up with Rury to the crater top, and then made our way to the sunset point. Even though it was still raining when we went on our way there, the rain stopped and we were able to see a beautiful sunrise, the clouds over the crater cleared, and we had a perfect view of the blue lake at the crater bottom, with clear views of the sulfur vents, and we even had a full 180° rainbow to take pictures of. We then walked back down to the park entrance and got a ride back, and made it back to our homestay before 9 AM that morning.
I can’t say enough good things about Rury. He was very attentive to all our needs, made sure my wife was comfortable with her footing going down some of the steeper parts inside the crater, took many pictures of us and waited patiently while we took our own pictures, and generally entertained us with great stories on the way. I would very highly recommend Rury as a guide, and would definitely use him again if I come back.