![]() ![]() Luckily, guides ensure you have ample time to explore the volcano, so if you opt to hike into the crater, you’ll be able to make it back to the summit for sunrise. Adventurous souls-like myself-will choose the former, carefully picking their footing on a much rockier, winding trail down the crater wall toward the mine entrance. At the summit, you’ll decide: descend into the crater to see the acid lake and blue lava or stay on the high canyon wall to rest until dawn. While it is steep, it doesn’t take more than two hours for the initial summit, and if the weather is on your side, the entirety of the hike will be beneath an enthralling canopy of stars. The 5.8-mile out-and-back trail is wide and covered with soft loose dirt. You’ll encounter many miners on your trek, and it’s important to always give them the right of way on tight trails and be respectful when taking photographs. ![]() While the gas mask provided by your guide will protect you, many of the men who still make the journey each day to mine sulfur cannot afford a mask instead, they endure these dangerous conditions, purely because it’s a solid source of income, and because such lucrative work is hard to come by in this area. The guides know the trails like the back of their hand and will have no problem guiding you into the crater safely. They piled upwards of 150 pounds of golden sulfur rocks into baskets on their backs, which left many of them with permanent scars and lasting lung damage. Many Ijen guides were former sulfur miners forced to make this climb daily, often without the protection of a gas mask, sunglasses, or suitable footwear. They'll distribute gas masks, which you'll need to wear while descending into the crater to filter the sulfur fumes from the breathable oxygen, and provide you with helpful tips to utilize during the journey. At the foot of the mountain, guides light a campfire for warmth and give you a rundown on the trip ahead. Tour guides scoop up hikers from various accommodations and shuttle you to base camp one of the most common points to set off from is the small village of Banyuwangi, making the shuttle ride just over an hour. If you've joined a guided group tour-and you should, as it’s an excellent way to both ensure your safety and support the local economy-the approximately-six-hour journey begins around midnight. While the fire burns 24/7, the flames can only be seen at night, making it a prime attraction in the predawn hours. (Sulfur is commonly used in everyday goods like matches, cosmetics, and white sugar.) With an active sulfur mine bored into its crater, Ijen’s allure for locals is largely financial, but tourists are intrigued by a rare geological phenomenon-the blue fire that spews from the crater, as sulfuric gas ignites after breaching the surface. The eastern side of Java is peppered with numerous active volcanoes, but Ijen is unique, as it produces ”devil’s gold”: sulfur. Because despite the harsh natural elements, it appeals both to bucketlist travelers hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary blue flames, as well as those looking for a seriously epic sunrise. The overnight hike on Ijen is justifiably one of the most popular attractions on the island. Yellowish stains color the gray rocks, marking the entrance to the sulfur mine, where just a few hours before I had watched electric-blue flames erupt, seemingly straight from the Earth's core.Įven considering the hostile environment-gusty, cold wind, toxic smoke, and acid lakes atop an active volcano-I was far from alone. Clouds of thick putrid smoke waft the stench of rotten eggs up from the depths of the crater walls. As the morning sun crests the jagged ridgeline, the dark sky turns a pastel pink, and it’s as if someone has flicked on the light switch in the turquoise lake below me. ![]() An active volcano, working sulfur mine, and home to the largest acid lake on Earth, this alien landscape is about to ignite. After four laborious hours maneuvering the steep, dusty slopes of Mount Ijen on the island of Java in Indonesia, I summit with a gas mask tightly secured to my face.
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