The exotic active Ijen crater is the largest sulphur mine in Indonesia which is located at 2,600 masl. For many years, people come to see this site and mine the sulphur found in the hot vents. In the other hands, travelers from all over the world come to discover the unusual natural phenomenon such as blue flames that can be enjoyed in the midst of the night along with the turquoise landscape and the surreal yellow crater. If you really want to enjoy the exciting Ijen crater tour, it is advisable to follow the simple guidelines as follow.
Where to get started the journey?
As you make an attempt to go for Ijen crater tour, you have to choose where you set off the journey. It can be from Bondowoso or Banyuwangi and these two cities offer different tour in term of its distance. To consider, if you start the journey from Banyuwangi, you will spend approximately an hour drive with many hotels and restaurants are available around the city to choose. While if you tend to start the journey from Bondowoso, you will take longer to reach the site, since it takes you around 90 minutes drive. There is no hotel to stay in Bondowoso but, you can enjoy tea plantation.
Tour to Ijen is preferably done at midnight
Most tour company will offer the tourist with the midnight tour to see the wonder of mount Ijen. As you go for Ijen crater tour, your journey will be started at 1 am while some other companies offer the tourists with the tour started at 3 am to see the exotic view of sunrise. In general, tourist will drop off back at the place where to reside at 08.00 pm. If you take the midnight tour, it will offer you with the magnificent blue flames and the beautiful sunrise.
Most amazing highlights during the tour
The Ijen crater tour would be the best option for those who want to spending the holiday with family or mates. The beautiful landscape from the base of Ijen crater in the form of blue flames is something the draws the attention of tourists. The blue flame that you find in this site is due to the sulphuric gas which is caught by fire. Another thing that brings the tourist to go for Ijen crater tour is to enjoy the beautiful landscape of liquid sulphur that turns the floor of the crater into yellow.
The beauty of the nature as you go for Ijen crater tour deserves to be captured, since you will discover the locals who carry a big basket full of sulphur walking along the gravel path. It is such a difficult life for those miners, since they are paid for Rp 1,000 per kilogram. Most miners will carry approximately 70 – 90 kg of sulphur on their back obtained from the crater. Additionally, the miners have to go for 2 hours walk for surviving from the hard life.
What to prepare before going Ijen crater tour?
What you need to know is that Ijen crater tour takes a great effort that will last for 6 hours. In this case, you will hike approximately 4 hours uphill and downhill. If you are not a kind of active person who regularly exercises, pain in calf muscle will be something inevitable, so make sure to do some light exercise before climbing up and down the hill.
We all know that Ijen crater produces the strong suphur gas that visitors should bring the mask to cover the nose and mouth, since inhaling the gas may cause serious respiratory problems. Do not miss to bring the flashlight as you want to go for Ijen crater tour and climbing in the midst of the dark. Due to the cold weather during the night, you are strongly recommended to wear jacket for your comfort.
If you really want to enjoy the Ijen crater tour, you can take the advantages of the tour agency that will include all the things in one package. Having reserved for the tour, you need to make sure that everything are prepared before starting the journey. Do not miss the camera to capture the moments.