Ijen, the sulfur volcano, is gaining fame in East Java, because of its Blue Fire and the magnificent views of its toxic lake!
Facts you should know
Ijen is a volcano that belongs to a volcano complex with the same name. This particular one has gained fame over the years, because of the sulfur mines that lie at the surface and the blue fire you can see, with the right climate conditions and in the early and dark morning hours.
Many tours take you up this volcano and down its crater to get to see this spectacle. If you are reading this post, you´ve probably already made up your mind to go to this volcano and are dying to get all the information you need to know before getting there.
But wait a second. You probably don´t know this, but it isn´t actually allowed to go into the crater, there is a sign saying it´s prohibited just at the entrance of the crater. This of course doesn´t stop all the tourism agencies from getting all the tourists in there, into the toxic gas, to get to see the famous blue fire. I´m not saying you shouldn´t go, I went (although I didn´t knew this, ups, my mistake), I just want you to be aware and make a mindful decision.
In the crater, there are miners working under inhumane conditions, getting blocks of the toxic mineral out of the earth and carrying it all the way up the crater and down the volcano, just to get barely enough money to survive! They carry 90kg of sulfur on their backs and don´t use a gas mask, which means they inhale the toxic gas every single day until they, probably, die of it. The path going up the crater is very narrow (not made for tourists), which means there´s normally just space for one. So if you decide to go on this adventure, be mindful and get out of the way as soon as you see a miner approaching you, with their 90kg on their backs!
Now, if you haven´t changed your mind and still want to go to Ijen, I´ll give you all the tips I worked up together, so you know what to do and expect and don´t make the same mistakes as Alex and me did!
We booked a tour, we went on a weekend and we got there late. Mistake after mistake, but hey, that´s how you learn!
How to get to Ijen
As in many cases you have some options to choose from on how to get to the volcano.
You should stay the night in a place near the volcano to be able to get to Ijen really early in the morning. We stayed in the town of Banyuwangi. Be careful not to go on weekends, because it tends to get overcrowded and it will be hard for you to get around the crater and seeing the blue fire!
To get to Ijen you can book a tour with a tour agency. If you´re more comfortable in a group of people, you can choose this option.
Otherwise, if you want a guide but don´t want to be squashed in a group of unknown people, you can find one on your own. Asking around is the best way to get a local guide to show you around.
If you want you can also go on your own. It´s the riskier option, but if you are careful, nothing bad should happen. You only need to get a gas mask and once at the foot of the volcano, follow the trail. It is wide and clear so you shouldn´t get lost.
Climbing the volcano and getting to the crater
You should get to Ijen as early as possible, I´m talking 2:00-3:00am early. When we got there at 4:00am, there were people already coming back and we are pretty sure, they got to see the best of the blue fire, plus they weren´t squashed between hundreds of other tourists. But we booked a touristy tour, so that´s what we got from it.
Bring a flashlight, as it is really dark and there is no lighting. The path is made of dirt and covered in volcano sand and ash, so it´s really slippery. Be prepared to fall and slip a few times!
The hike takes around 1 ½ h to 2h. If you decide you can´t go further, there is the option to be pulled up in a wheeled crate, by two men, one pulling and one pushing. But honestly, I think this is really silly. You can see how strenuous this work is for the two men and if you are going to get up, you should do it on your two legs!
That said, when you are finally at the top of the volcano, you have to get down into the crater. If there are more people there, finding the path shouldn´t be a problem, but if it´s empty you should be really careful and watch where you are going, as there are many tiny paths and you could get lost. If you have bad weather, you have to be even more careful. And as I mentioned above, be mindful of the miners!
If you happen to catch a good day, the flames should be really impressive! And if you are lucky, the wind will be blowing the sulfur smoke away from you. Then you have to put your mask on, when you are going down into the crater. But if the wind is blowing in your direction, you should put it on before.
When you are in the crater, try to keep as far from the mine as possible and from the smoke. You will see people stepping into the smoke and taking off their masks for pictures. DON´T DO IT! It´s no joke. The smoke really is toxic and the less time you actually spend surrounded by it the better.
Sunrise at Ijen
Get back up to the rim of the crater just before the sun rises. You will see everything below you, slowly getting illuminated by the rays and you will finally be able to see your surroundings! The lake below you, with the sulfur smoke blowing over it, the path down and the mountains all around you! It´s truly amazing! Get your camera ready, because you won´t want to miss having this in a picture!
If you are facing the crater, you can walk to the right, to get away from the tourists and get a different view from the crater.
With that we concluded our trip to Ijen. As we were with a tour, we had to get back down, but we would have liked to stay more time at the top and enjoy the view, it´s a beautiful place!
I hope you can use this information to plan the perfect trip to Ijen for you!
For other things to do in East Java, check out my other posts on that topic!
Bromo, amazing experience at an active volcano!
