Anyone who visits Java cannot fail to be impressed by the string of volcanoes which dominate the skyline of much of the island. I finally got round to climbing the first of the big ones in 1996 and before long I realised that with a little bit of careful planning I could get to the top of all 12 of the 3000m peaks marked on the Nelles map of Java before my rugby knee collapsed completely, a target I successfully completed in August 2003.
Raung is an active and dangerous volcano, which is known to erupt regularly*.Prior to 1838 the crater probably contained a lake, which would have caused extensive flood damage during eruptions. Nowadays, however, the crater floor is dry. From the air, the gaping summit of Raung presents an awesome spectacle, the sheer crater walls plunging half a kilometre into the heart of the mountain.
Raung (right) is named for the sound that tigers make. The summit is a long ridge and very jagged. Fresh gray-brown rock surrounded by forest. We never got very close but it formed a nice reference in the distance

Getting There

the ridge from south side.

Gunung Raung lies east of Bondowoso on the edge of the giant ancient Ijen crater. This is pure volcano climbing at its very best.its easy to get there by bus from Surabaya, take the bus to Bondowoso or Banyuwangi take about 4-5 hour from Surabaya, after that we took a small bus from bus terminal of Banyuwangi or Bondowoso to Sumberwringin Village it's took about 1-2 hour. there is no register post at The Sumber Wringin, if we want to climb we should be registered at the Police Office of the Sumber wringin, after that you can take a small pick up car to Starting Point of Raung Climb Route.

From The Starting Point Called Pondok Motor, needs about 2 hour to the next camp called Pondok Sumur, after that there's 2 post before summit and need time about 4-6 hours to go there and still 1-2 hour before summit, from the last post we can make a camp and start for summit attack at 5.00 pm to see the sunrise at the summit.

There one another route to climb Raung Mt. from south side, glenmore vilage, but it's too long and more dangerous from the normal route.

When To Climb

Dry season its about May - September, cause in tha rain season the track is very wet and skinny. But we must prepared a lot of Water, because there's no water along the track to the summit.
After checking in at the base 'office' at Sumberwringin with my guides, I climbed overnight to the summit and back down again for dusk, it sounds quite simple but it is a long trek/climb. We saw no-one at all the whole way - the fact it was the day of the football world cup final may have had something to do with it. At nearly 1km, Raung has the widest crater of any of the big 12 and sitting almost alone there on the edge of it just after dawn was a magical experience. To the west, Argopuro and Semeru rose out of the clouds, beyond lay the others described above.

Mountain Conditions

the crater

the summit of Mt. Raung

Raung is a stratovolcano with a circular summit caldera. A prehistoric collapse on the west flank of the volcano produced a large debris avalanche that traveled about 40 miles (60 km). Raung has erupted at least 57 times since 1593. Most eruptions consisted of moderate size explosions (VEI=2). The explosive eruption in 1593 was very large (VEI=5) and caused fatali ties. Eruptions in 1597, 1638, 1730, and 1817 also caused fatalities. A crater lake was present during the eruptions of 1586, 1593, 1597, 1638, 1730, 1817, and 1838. Mudflows were generated during the eruptions of 1638, 1730, 1817, and 1838. More than 1,000 people were killed by floods and lahars between the Stail and Klatak Rivers during the 1638 eruption

Images