EAST JAVA Kawah Ijen
The volcanic cone of Ijen dominates the landscape at the eastern end of Java. Crater of Ijen is filled by a spectacular turquoise blue lake, its surface streaked in wind-blown patterns of yellow sulphur.
Kawah Ijen is the world's largest highly acidic lake and is the site of a labor-intensive sulfur mining operation in which sulfur-laden baskets are hand-carried from the crater floor.
Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones forms an E-W-trending zone across the southern side of the caldera. Coffee plantations cover much of the Ijen caldera floor, and tourists are drawn to its waterfalls, hot springs, and dramatic volcanic scenery.
To Ijen crater
A Very fresh air on the elevation of 900 m above sea level will make your tour as unforgettable trip.
Anyone travelling on a clear day across the narrow strait separating East Java and Bali will almost certainly be impressed by the two towering mountain peaks dominating the Javanese horizon. These are the summits of Mt Merapi and the crater rim of Ijen, just two points lying on the edge of a vast caldera, which at its widest point is some 20 km in diameter.
Kawah (crater) Ijen can be reached from either the east or the west. The latter is the more popular approach, since the climb from the road's end to the edge of the lake is only one and a half hours. The road from Banyuwangi, on the other hand, involves a six to seven hour trek from the village of Licin. The western route starts from Wonosari, a few kilometres outside Bondowoso, the town famous for its bull fights. A narrow road, full of potholes, runs east and up from Wonosari, rapidly deteriorating into bone shaking loose rock and gravel. Seemingly endless hairpin bends ascend into forests of casuarina (cemara) trees, giving way to pine forests and coffee plantations. The temperature drops. At night, near the crater rim, it can fall to about 5 degrees celsius.