Mount Ijen: midnight climbs and sulphur mines
With two volcanoes in the Ring of Fire having recently erupted, and amidst warnings that Mount Agung would erupt at any given moment, what do we do? We climb a volcano.
So quick background info: Ijen volcano in East Java contains the world’s largest acidic volcanic crater lake and is known for the sulphur deposits, where people work in the mines to collect the sulphur which is then used for cosmetics, medicine, fertilisers etc.
It’s hard to believe that this isn’t on another planet
Bali to East Java
We decided against taking an all inclusive tour because we thought it would be more fun to do it ourselves, a proper adventure (okay, we were on a budget.) Having arrived in Bali that morning from Nusa Lembongan, we made it to Ubung bus terminal around 3pm. From here we would take a bus to Gilimanuk port, on the very western tip of Bali.
Here’s the thing. The ticket counter had a photo of the bus displayed in the window. Pretty large, air-con promised. Alright, this four hour journey may not be so bad after all. Never have I been so mistaken in my life. Walked around to board and saw this corroded, fragile, ratchety old minibus. We were catfished… by a bus.
Once we arrived at Gilimanuk, we bought super cheap ferry tickets to Ketapang Port in East Java (Rp 6,500!) each and this journey took about an hour. Here’s the fast boat from Nusa Lembongan vs. the ferry from Bali:
Banyuwangi - East Java
The main town in this area is Banyuwangi, which is where we’d be based for the next couple of days. It didn’t seem like there was much to see in this place, which is why we wanted to climb Ijen that night – to avoid spending the following day hanging around Banyuwangi.
But upon arriving in Banyuwangi we were completely shattered. Decided it was probably best not to risk dying from exhaustion ten minutes into the hike, so we settled on doing the climb the following night.
You know the cliche ‘the best things happen unexpectedly’? Well that’s what happened when we set out the next day to to explore Banyuwangi and kill time until midnight. Turns out that this town was by far the most colourful place I’ve ever seen. All the walls in the little alleys and neighbourhoods were painted with anything you could think of, from cartoons to animals to landscapes.
As someone who loves to see fascinating architecture in places I visit, it was interesting to see all the old Dutch colonial buildings contrasted with the traditional Indonesian buildings. But if there’s one thing that stood out the most, it would be the people. Everyone we met was so friendly and kindhearted.
Climbing Mt Ijen
That night, we left the hotel at 1am with a group of other climbers. We drove for about an hour to the basecamp which, by the way, was freezing cold. After joining even more climbers and paying our entrance fee, we got divided into two groups with two guides: Tom and Jerry. I wish I was joking.
The first hour was just a constant uphill climb on sandy/soily terrain. Genuinely thought I was going to pass out. After that horrific climb, suddenly, out of nowhere, it became flat. Amen. We were walking along the rim of the volcano and looking down into the crater, we could see a trail of flashlights leading into the centre, the blue flames flickering in the mines.
Heading down into the crater was a bit of a rocky situation, literally. We were climbing over boulders that Donkey from Shrek would drool over (if you don’t get the reference, shame on you). I don’t think he’d drool over the smell of sulphur though. Before we could put our gas masks on, the wind picked up and the smoke hit us in the face with fumes of rotten eggs. Nice.
By this point it was sunrise and we could see our surroundings properly. It was amazing to see the miners at work, most of them just wearing flip flops and no mask. The fact that they only get $10 a day and carry up to 100kg of sulphur up and down the mountain was enough to make anybody well up (but could’ve just been smoke in the eye).
JurasSICK views
The flat part of the mountain
In the centre of the crater was a gorgeous baby blue lake, but we were under strict orders from Tom (or was it Jerry?) not to touch the water because it was so acidic.
On the climb back up, several miners were selling ornaments that they hand carved from the sulphur rock. I’d recommend anyone going to Ijen to buy one just to support them and give a little extra income. Now I have a cute little turtle which I don’t know what to do with. While I’m out here giving advice, I would also recommend not to go on a Friday or Saturday night, obviously because it’s a weekend and there’d be heaps of people photobombing your shots.
The climb down was amazing because you could finally see the view that was pitch black on the way up. The crater rim was such surreal landscape, with huge, green, rocky cliffs surrounding it. Looking down was just hills for miles. If you’re thinking of climbing a volcano in Indonesia, Mount Ijen should definitely be on your list. It’s unlikely anything else, simply because of the sulphur mines, blue flames and acid lake.
