I am back again to Bromo, after so many years……
She’s still the same. The view from Penanjakan peak is still breath-taking. Still fresh, but it is not as chilly as before, as far as I remember. And not as clean as before (more people coming, means more litters *huh*)
This time, I brought along my family at weekend. And they really enjoyed the trip. From Malang, I chose Tosari route near Pasuruan as Poncokusumo route would be impossible for us who took Toyota Kijang to reach the caldera, and Sukapura route near Probolinggo is too distant compare to Tosari…
Took off around 02:00 pm from Malang, we arrived at Wonokitri village – the last village before Penanjakan peak – at around 04:00 pm. I decided to go for Penanjakan peak and hoping that the weather would not be too misty so I can take view sunset shots (although Penanjakan peak is more famous for the sunrise view instead…). Not too lucky though. So we went back to Wonokitri to find us a place to stay overnight…
It’s not difficult at all to find a place to stay at Wonokitri. A lot of villagers house were modified and available for rental here. The price range for a room is IDR 50,000 – 100,000 per night. If you go with numbers of friends, you can also rent a house with 4 rooms for price between IDR 200,000 – 300,000…
03:00 am early in the morning, we already headed up to Penanjakan peak for sunrise. 20 minutes from Wonokitri village, the Penanjakan peak was still dark, but groups of people were already there for the same reason as we did. My family decided to stay in the car at parking area and wait for the sunrise as it was still freezing during the time. But I headed up the peak directly and prepared my gears at the spot that I had already picked the day before. I had to, or otherwise other people would take the spot away. I was right. Just before sunrise, a big group of tourist came and at no time the small peak became so crowded…
Although it was misty and too much clouds around, the sunrise view is still as beautiful as always. Some fellow photographers from Surabaya beside me were as busy as I was, taking pictures on every step of the sunrise upon Tengger caldera. Mount Semeru at the background staged an exhibition for us with its light eruption and showed its clouds. The view was simply breath-taking…
After the dawn, we immediately headed down to Bromo itself via Laut Pasir (sand sea), the Tengger caldera. There are at least three ways to reach the Hindu temple at the foot of Bromo before climb to the peak for people using family car like me. First is to rent a 4×4 jeep with the driver available almost averywhere around Wonokitri. The rate is IDR 250,000 per day and you can ride it at all surrounding areas in Tengger caldera as the jeep is very capable to do that. Second is to hire local people with motorbike to guide you pass across the sand sea to avoid your car get stuck on sand slope. The third option is to travel by yourself without a guide, recommended only if you are already familiar with the surrounding area. From the Hindu temple at the foot of the mountain, you can either walk or ride one of horses that are available there for price between IDR 30,000 – 50,000 in normal season and it will take you to the bottom side of a steep stair-case that bring you to the edge of the crater…
And to the edge of the Bromo crater we went. And another breath-taking view we had there…
And I ‘ll be back again, for sure…
* Other photos I took during my trip to Bromo can be found at:
http://www.ismawanismail.com/gallery/index.php?/category/bromo
