Mt Bromo is undoubtedly on of the most popular and well known tourist attractions of East Java Province. The pre-dawn departure and trek across the mountain's famous 'sand sea', to watch the sunrise at the crater rim, has become something of a ritual, enacted daily by people of every nationality.

Bromo is actually just one crater in the vast, 800 km² Tengger massif, which forms the largest of East Java's five main volcanic ranges. Although by no means the highest mountain in the region, it has gained its reputation partly because of its unique location and partly through the reverence shown to it by the local inhabitants.

The Tengger Range is one of eight official nature reserves in East Java and centres around the peaks of Mts. Bromo and Semeru. Most of the area is more than 2000 metres above sea level, Mt Semeru itself being Java's highest mountain at 3,676m.

Find Geological Info and Legend below, also note the large Links section with more info.

Please note: If you find any errors or outdated info on this page, or you want to add
more information, please send me a mail, so I can correct it, or I can give you editing privileges.

Getting There

There are several ways to get to the Bromo/Semeru Reserve.
The well worn route is from the north coastal town of Probolinggo, 60 km away.
A reasonably good road winds its way south and up into the hills via Sukapura,
ending at Ngadisari, one of the largest of the 38 traditional Tenggerese villages.
For those wishing specifically to visit Mt Bromo, this is the best route, since there
is accommodation at Ngadisari, as well as at Cemara Lawang on the edge of the sand sea
above the village.

An alternative route, from the north west, leads from Pasuruan on the coast through
Wonokitri and Tosari, to the summit of Mt Penanjakan on the edge of the sand sea.
This is rapidly becoming the favoured spot to welcome the dawn, since it is the highest point
in the vicinity and offers a spectacular view of Mt Semeru and the entire Bromo caldera.
As yet, however, there is only limited simple accommodation at Tosari.

Many people do Bromo as a stop on the the way between Yogyakarta (main tourist center
in Eastern Java) and Bali. The typical tour then includes the bus fare and an overnight
stay at a very cheap hotel, but not the drive with the jeep up to the rim and the crater
in the morning. This is usually offered as a seperate (more costly) service locally.
It is still advisable to take one of these offers, as you cannot do the tour by foot
if you are in a hurry to continue. The distance to the rim and the crater is too big.
You can also do Bromo as a seperate Tour package from Yogyakarta and Bali.

See 1000Traveltips.org for much more details

Red Tape

Thanks to "hunwagner"
A small entrance fee (under 1 USD) for the surrounding Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park is supposed to be paid and is in fact occasionally collected at least at a post up the road to Cemero Lawang.

When To Climb

In the dry season of the summer months (June to September)

Camping & Accomodation

Camping is not the typical way to stay overnight here.
Cheap Accomodation is available in the nearby towns of Sukapura and others, see the "Getting There" section.
The most comfortable place to stay is probably the new Hotel Grand Bromo at Sukapura (opened in 1990)
Hot water showers are nice to have as it often gets cool in the night.

See 1000Traveltips.org for much more details

Mountain Conditions

Current Seismic activities: Smithsonian Tengger / Bromo Page

Geologic Info

The 16-km-wide Tengger caldera is located at the northern end of a volcanic massif
extending from Semeru volcano. The massive Tengger volcanic complex consists of five
overlapping stratovolcanoes, each truncated by a caldera.
The most recent is the 9 x 10 km wide Sandsea caldera, which formed incrementally
during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. An overlapping cluster of post-caldera
cones was constructed on the floor of the Sandsea caldera within the past
several thousand years. The youngest of these is Bromo, one of Java's most
frequently visited and most active volcanoes.
More than 50 mild-to-moderate explosive eruptions have occurred since 1804.
Especially Bromo was active again with many smaller eruptions since Nov.29.2000

Legend

A legend connected with Mt Bromo tells of the origin of the Tenggerese people.
According to the story, it was during the closing years of the 15th century, when the East
Javanese empire of Majapahit was in decline, that a princess of the kingdom, named Roro Anteng,
and her husband Joko Seger, retreated to the Bromo region and established a separate principality,
which they named Tengger, a combination of the last syllables of each of their names.
The region, it is said, developed and prospered, yet no descendants were born to the ruling couple.
In despair, Roro Anteng and Joko Seger climbed to the top of Mt Bromo and prayed to the gods,
asking for their help. The gods consented to the request on the condition that the last child born
be sacrificed in the crater of the mountain. This agreed, the royal couple returned home happily
and it wasn't long before the princess gave birth to their first child. In fact, the gods turned
out to be more than generous and in the following years 24 more children were born. However, when
the princess learned that the twenty fifth child, named Kesuma, was to be the last and thus the
one to be sacrificed, she could not bring herself to fulfil her part of the bargain. In anger, the
gods threatened fire and brimstone from the smoking volcano and eventually there was no alternative
but to throw the child into the crater.
Shortly after the sacrifice had been made, the child's voice was heard, ordering the Tengger people
and their descendants to perform an annual ceremony at Mt Bromo, to commemorate the event and to
appease the anger of the gods.

To this day, the Kasodo ceremony, held on the 14th day of the Tenggerese month of Kasodo (December),
is the biggest event of the year for the people of Mt Bromo. Ritual prayers and traditional
performances are held at the village of Ngadisari, after which crowds gather on the sand sea
surrounding the mountain for the climax of the ceremony at midnight, when livestock and agricultural
produce are flung into the crater. Nowadays, as an additional attraction arranged to coincide with
the Kasodo ceremony, bull races are organized at the village of Muneng Probolinggo.

Nearby Sites

Here are some some interesting sites you can find nearby:

Semeru 12,057 feet (3,676 m), a stratovolcano, has erupted at least 55 times since 1818
Batok is the next small 'mountain' besides Bromo

External Links

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/
Volcano World: a site with many details and pictures
Knapsack.net - Bromo
Interesting Travel Report on Bromo and a climb on nearby Semeru
Smithsonian Tengger / Bromo Page
Detailed geological info and updated activity reports
Discovering East Java : Bromo
VERY good link on Bromo and the surroundings !
Footprint Adventures
Tour Operator that has even more info on his page.
1000Traveltips.org Bromo
The most Detailed info on Transport and Accomodation I could find.
Bromo Pictures on Webshots.com
Many pictures by individual people

Images



[ View Gallery - 23 More Images ]