Take a sunrise hike up Mt Bromo in Indonesia’s stunning Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park
- A predawn trek to Mount Bromo in East Java takes you through some incredible scenery
- The active volcano is one of many in the national park and safe to visit, unless a warning is issued
My legs are still shaking from hiking up the narrow crater rim when I pause to look up at the pink and gold predawn sky. An early morning mist hangs low between the mountains, casting a veil over the rugged valley below. My tour group is the earliest group to arrive at the summit of Mount Bromo as the sun peeks from behind the jagged peaks, adding an ethereal glow to the scene.
Mount Bromo is best known of the many volcanoes in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Indonesia. Rising to 2,329 metres (7,641 feet), it is a somma volcano – a caldera, or a collapsed volcanic cone, with a partially formed cone inside. Although it is still active, it is monitored by a local volcanology centre, and is considered safe to visit unless a warning is issued.
The name of the mountain comes from the Hindu god of creation, Brahma; the smoke escaping from the volcano is seen as a sign of the god’s anger. It is a sacred mountain to the nearby Tengger people, who celebrate the yadnya kasada ceremony annually, at which villagers gather to sacrifice livestock to appease the gods.
Our sunrise trek starts at 3.45am; our guides meet us at our guest house in Ngadisari, a small village just northeast of Mount Bromo, and usher us into a jeep.
