03Cities & regions

East Java

Bromo

Few sights match Bromo at dawn. The volcano belongs to the Tengger range in East Java and rises to 2,329 meters. It is not the highest peak nearby, but it is the most active and the best known, sitting inside Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Around it spreads the Sea of Sand—a wide plain of gray volcanic ash protected since 1919—and before it stands Mount Batok, which many visitors mistake for Bromo itself. The usual outing starts from Cemoro Lawang village on the caldera rim: you climb before sunrise to the Penanjakan viewpoint at 2,770 meters, watch the sun rise over the volcanoes, and see Mount Semeru smoking in the background. Then you descend to the Sea of Sand and climb the steps to Bromo’s crater rim to watch smoke rise from within. Pack warm clothes—it is bitterly cold before dawn at this height, even in a tropical country. Remember that Bromo is an active volcano: always follow local authorities’ guidance before you climb.

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Height of Bromo

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Height of Penanjakan viewpoint