Ijen Crater

See the majestic turquoise sulfur lake of Ijen Crater, in Indonesia. Ijen is the complex of volcanic area, which there is a crater of Ijen and its plateu. Ijen is located in three part of regencies, which in Situbondo, Bondowoso, and Banyuwangi, East Java. This volcanic area become the most incredible and surreal volcanic area in East Java.

In this volcanic mountain, there is also the sulfur mining, regarding that the mountain is still active and produce the nature sulfur. In here, we can see the sulfur miners that collect and carry huge loads of pure sulfur up from the crater floor along a steep, rocky path in the middle of clouds of sulfur dioxide gas. They did it as their living hood. Particularly, Ijen volcanic mountain is consider as the home to the largest lake of sulfuric acid in the world.

Ijen volcanic area is lies to west of Merapi Mountain. The crater is having a wide turquoise colored acid lake that rich in sulfur. The dramatic nuance can be seen around this marvelous tosca lake.

The Ijen Plateu, is a large of highland area in Southeast of Bondowoso, which includes the peaks and foothills of Ijen Mountain, Raung Mountain, Suket Mountain and Merapi Mountain. Among the plateu, the area is such a rural village, which there is coffee plantations, vegetables garden and an upland forest.

For those who like to hike Ijen crater, the access is about 3Km hike from Pal Tuding. In Pal Tuding, there is camping ground, dorm and national park office, where the hikers can get the safety info before hiking the crater.

The path to the crater is about steeply uphill, passing the forest edge that can be easily be follow. The journey will pass 45 minutes and the visitors will get into the crater. The visitors can walk along the top of the crater, or descend to the edge og the lake along the narrow path that miners usually use for mining the sulfur.