A Family Trip to Mount Penanjakan and Mount Bromo
East Java, Indonesia

A Family Trip to Mount Penanjakan and Mount Bromo

We had just returned from our one week's trip from Surabaya. We were to visit Mount Penanjakan to view one of the most beautiful sunrises there is, and also to visit the most popular volcano in East Java, Mount Bromo. Mount Penanjakan is about 3000 feet above sea level. Surabaya is one of the gateways to Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park where the mountains are located. As my husband & I travel with our 3 young children, we have to be a little selective in the places that we travel to. The places that we were to visit this time around may not be any parents' (with children) Dream Holiday. Though we had invited some friends to join us, none were too keen. So there we were, a family of 5, making our way to what would be to us, one of the most memorable trips that we've been to.

Our base was in Malang which was about two hours drive from Surabaya Airport. The usual road to Malang was diverted due to the mud slide in a town called Sidoarjo. We sought a friend's help to arrange for a driver to pick us up from Surabaya Airport to Malang. The fare was 75,000 RP per person (S$13). Our return trip to the mountains was also booked when we were in Malang, through the same local travel agency which had picked us up from the Airport. Our driver was polite and knowledgeable. We paid 325,000 RP (about SGD70) for a Kijang (SUV look-alike). The Kijang could accommodate seven passengers excluding our driver. Price excludes petrol (or benzene as they call it). Petrol for the return trip was about SGD30. Our driver picked us up from our hotel at 1am. About two hours later, we reached the base of Mount Penanjakan. Local Tenggerese salesmen selling their wares approached us. Even if you didn't plan to buy any warm accessories like winter hats & shawls, you'd probably end up buying anyway. Winter hats with the word BROMO sewn on it can be bargained for about SGD1 to SGD1.50. Entrance to Mount Penanjakan opened at 3am. A minimal fee was payable upon entry. The trip up Mount Penanjakan took about less than half an hour. The moon and stars seemed so near as we went higher up the mountain. The view was just spectacular. Upon reaching Mount Penanjakan, our driver parked the Kijang. Many shops had just opened. Few shops were renting out winter jackets, hats & shawls for those who were less prepared to fight the cold air at the mountain. It was freezing cold. Temperature could easily be between 5 to 10 degrees Celsius. A short 5 minutes walk brought us to the lookout area. It is advisable to bring torchlight with you as the slope up the lookout area can be very dark at 3.30am. You would not want to fall off the cliff. More Tenggerese salesmen selling warm accessories and dried flowers were at the lookout area. More visitors swarmed in as the sky got redder. What a spectacular view! The sun was peeping its way out. We were above the clouds. Weather grew chilly as the wind started to blow. Visitors with cameras, digicams, videocams and handphone cams, lined the barricade to take a good shot of the sunrise. Towards the right, magnificent image of the National Park appeared as the sky got brighter. Mount Batok (extinct volcano) appeared on front. Behind Mount Batok, we saw 2 other familiar mountains emerging. Mount Bromo was towards the left of Mount Batok and Mount Semeru at the far end. The popular image that we've seen in many online sites started to appear. WOW! If time had stood still, I'd probably be there still watching the beauty of God's creations. We spent the next few minutes taking photos and admiring the scenic surrounding before making our way down to one of the shops for a cup of coffee and instant noodles. We were to visit the volcano itself after our light breakfast.

After about 20 minutes driving downs the mountain, a wide dusty, dessert area greeted us and seemed like we were in some kind of cowboy movie setting. A view of horsemen and some mountains appeared. The horsemen would be the local Tenggerese who inhabit the mountain area. They provide their horseride service up to the foot of Mount Bromo. Our driver advised us to bargain the price for the horse ride. When our vehicle stopped, many horsemen approached us. At one point a few of them just threw in some cards with their names on it, I presume. Whichever card that we selected, that would be our horse and horsemen. Return trip per horse was 25,000 RP. The horsemen were quite persistent but they were really polite. The ride on the horse was a little scary as the ground wasn't stable. The horsemen held onto the rein and guided the horse. After about 15 minutes, we reached the foot of the magnificent Mount Bromo. Next, we had to climb the 250 over steps up to the edge of Bromo's crater. By the time we got up, we were breathless. But the sight was worth our effort! Words could not describe our feelings of viewing the scenery from up there. The ancient Hindu temple at the dessert area looked very small. Every few minutes the crater gave out a white sulphuric gas. Do bring a mask with you as the smell of the sulphur can really make you cough hard. Unfortunately, we had forgotten to bring our masks from the vehicle. Be extra careful when you walk at the edge of the volcano as the barricade was just not enough. It was probably about 1 metre high only. The trip down the steep stairs was easier. Our horsemen were waiting for us at the foot of the mountain for the trip down to the parking area. As we headed down the mountain in our vehicle, the view of the villages along the way was another sight to be thrilled about. Who would have thought that a country so near to Singapore, would have wonderful mountain images like of those as in Europe or New Zealand. We were back at our hotel in Malang about 10 hours after we left. Images of the view at the mountains kept playing in our heads. We'd probably be back there again some day.We were glad that we went ahead with this trip though some people we know were quite negative about it.

Text and Photographs Couresty of Aida Saadon. All Rights Reserved.