A turquoise, peaceful, but highly toxic lake. Sunrises can leave you breathless. Shades of pink and purple as a backdrop. Surrounded by sulphur clouds.
• This tour starts in Surabaya •
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Itinerary: Ijen tour - start Surabaya, 2 days tour
Pick up in Surabaya. Your next destination is the fabled Ijen crater lake.
Miners, sunrise, fabled landscape...
After the tour, you can easily head back to Surabaya (by plane or car) or continue to Bali (by car) or Jakarta (by flight from Banyuwangi).
This "Ijen tour start Surabaya" is your adventure.
Click on one of the headings to read the extensive itinerary.
On your way to Ijen crater lake
Surabaya - Pasir Putih beach - Bondowoso
You will be picked up at your hotel or at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya. Around 09:00 is a good time to start.
It is approximately a four-hour drive to beach Pasir Putih, where you can have lunch (not included) and where you have time to spend on the beach.
When you are ready to go, your driver is as well. You will drive in another 2 hours to Bondowoso city, where you will spend the night.
Optional: instead of Pasir Putih beach you could visit the Madakaripura waterfalls (one hour drive from Probolinggo), the mangroves of Probolinggo at BeeJay Bakau Resort, or do some Tutul shark spotting with best chances in January and February, you can also snorkel with these guys.
Accommodation
Ijen View Hotel & Resort - strategically located between Surabaya and the Ijen Plateau. Staying in Bondowoso saves you hours on the road. The hotel comes with a relaxing swimming pool.
Looking for an upper-class hotel or for cheaper accommodation, let us know
Ijen crater lake, Kalibendo coffee area and Jagir waterfall
Ijen crater lake, miners, landscape...
You will depart at 04:00 as it is a 2-hours drive to Paltuding, the entrance for your hike to the top of Mount Ijen.
The hike takes over one hour though the trek to the top is 3 km only.
While hiking to the top, sulphur miners are hiking down with their sulphur harvest. These days, most miners wheel their sulphur down Ijen's slopes with freight up to 200 kg, while some miners still walk with bamboo baskets on their shoulds that can weigh up to 100 kg.
At the top, you can enjoy a colourful panorama. At the top, you will see the sulphur miners with a weight of around 80 kg on their shoulders hike up the crater rim. Once at the rim, they put their loads on a trolley.
When you have experienced the beauty of the active volcano Ijen, you can hike down the slopes back to your car where you can visit the sulphur weighing area. Sulphur miners weigh their loads and to get paid.
Meet with your driver. Have a cup of coffee with a local snack, before heading to Ketapang harbour. En route, you can visit the coffee area Kalibendo and Jagir waterfall.
Once dropped, your "Ijen tour start Surabaya" ends...
Note: please understand that hiking down into Ijen's crater to see Ijen's Blue Flames (or fire) is officially forbidden at any time. These are the official rules issued by the Volcanology department. It is forbidden as the slopes are rather steep, the acidic lake is dangerous with a pH below 0.3 on a scale from 0 to 14 - 7 is neutral, and the volcano unpredictably emits toxic gasses.
If you insist on seeing the blue fire, you will depart at midnight to Paltuding. Hiking down into the Ijen crater will be at your own risk.
- If you have more time, you could also take a look at the 3 days & 2 nights tour to mount Bromo and mount Ijen - start Surabaya.