For a view like this, you'll have to climb Mt Penanjakan, located just NW of Cemara Lawang (see map on previous page). We can arrange for transport at the guesthouse the night before. Most jeeps would just stop at a flight of stairs from where you begin your climb. The trail appears to stop at a zinc-roofed shelter, but there is actually a way up to the radio transmitter located near the peak. It is a very steep climb, some parts requiring a bit of skill (no ropes necessary). It takes about half an hour. Your efforts will be handsomely rewarded.

The smoking cone on the lower left corner is Mt Bromo. Yes, Bromo is an active volcano, but it seldom erupts. Next to it, is a more symmetrical fluted cone. That's Mt Batok which is extinct. The smoking grey giant you see behind the caldera is Mt Semeru, highest mountain in Java. It is also a highly active volcano second only to Mt Merapi in Central Java. We will be climbing Semeru in a moment.

From the highest point on Penanjakan, you can catch the entire Bromo-Batok caldera as well as Mt Semeru in one single sweep. The landscape looks pretty barren, but it's actually home to plants like fir trees which are not supposed to be found so near the equator. The white flowers you see on the right are the Javan Edelweiss. The returning crowds appear like armies of ants on the sand sea below. It's time for us to make our way there. 

The sand sea is precisely what the name says it is. The sand is actually composed of volcanic ash. The formation of the cladera took place millions of years ago when a huge volcano blew it's top. The concave walls surrounding the sand sea demarcates the size of the original volcano. Two smaller volcanoes remain within, thus giving the caldera its present appearance.  

Warning : The following pages deal with hardcore adventuring. If you have the fitness level of the average couch potato, you are advised to leave immediately. Note that the author will not be responsible for anyone who gets swallowed up by the sand sea or baked in volcanic lava. If you agree to the terms, pack some biscuits along with at least 2 litres of water. Pay attention to the map above.

We are now inside the sand sea, enclosed by the walls of the cladera. Our next destination is Jemplang which lies on the southern rim of the caldera (as compared with Cemara Lawang which lies on the northern rim). Jemplang is not shown on the map, but it lies at the track junction just under the letter "n" of the word Tengger.   To get there, we must follow the dotted line skirting around Mt Bromo and then ascend the caldera wall on the southern rim. Leaving the caldera, we will then trek southwards towards the village of Ranopani (see map) which lies on the northern slope of Mt Semeru (remember the smoking giant?).   It is 30km trek and should take us only 5 hours if we walk almost non-stop.   

 This is what the southern face of Mt Bromo looks like. The barren, ash-strewn volcanic moonscape gives way to rolling grassland. It is surprising that this mountain is the same grey and fluted one we saw from Cemara Lawang. I guess even mountains suffer from some form of schizophrenia. The jeep track here is evidence of another approach into Mt Bromo - from Malang, through Ngadas. It's a crazy and inconvenient way to arrive, but then again, you avoid the crowds. Travelling backwards on this path like what we're doing is equally enjoyable. 

As we ascend and depart from the sand sea, we can appreciate the form of the caldera once again.

   

The village of Ranopani is large and heavily populated with a predominantly Muslim community who migrated here from Malang recently, diluting the Hindu influence. At the end of a long and descending road, is a lake with several houses and farms around it.

This village lies in the shadow of Mt Semeru, but in spite of its relatively low elevation, Ranopani is considerably colder than Cemara Lawang. There is a church here and opposite it, lives bible teacher, Pak Tasrip and his family. They are very friendly Indonesian Christians who provide food and accomodation for hardcore travellers. They are especially nice to people who speak Indonesian. Their youngest daughter, Nunook (27) is a good talker with a great sense of humour. So go get that Indonesian phrase book now.

 

Water is never enough for the climb unless you use porters. No matter how much you carry on your own, you will need to replenish along the way. Two litres should last you until the first stop where there is water. Carrying more will only exhaust you. Don't underestimate the amount of food you have to carry. You will need lots of food - at least 6 meals. Don't take anything less. Hunger will kill your morale.

The first part of the climb goes through dense forest blocked in many places by fallen trees. Before we go any further, let's have a look at that map again.

 As we ascend the northern face of Semeru, the thick shrubs and bushes give way to grasses and fir trees. The first stop, also our lunch stop, is Rano Kumbolo. Owing to its inaccessibility and in spite of its beauty, this place is unpopulated. There is a badly-littered shelter on the bank of a beautiful lake situated at 2400m.

   

Apart from the Javan Edelweiss, which we saw earlier at Mt Bromo, this considerably wetter region also has a profusion of lichen like this "old man's beard" hanging from the branches of trees.

A lichen is not a single species of plant, but a symbiotic union between a fungus and an algae. The fungus has a structural form but is unable to manufacture its own food. The algae which contain photosynthetic pigments, can manufacture their own food, but it does not have a structural form to establish a firm hold in its environment. The two join hands and decorate cloud forests all over the tropics.

If only human relationships were as simple.

The base camp 1 you saw on the map actually has a frightening name called Kalimati. It is vast stretch of grassland dotted with short trees and shrubs. This place is warm in the afternoon, but bitterly cold once the evening winds start to sweep across it. There is a small shelter here for climbers to rest before climbing further to base camp 2 which is also the overnight stop.

By the way, that's yours sincerely posing at Kalimati. From here, you can see the treeline. that's where we will zip up for the night. Let's go for it.

It's nightfall by the time we arrive at the treeline. This is base camp 2 which also has a magnificent name - Arcopodo. The next morning, we make a final assault on the mountain, scrambling up the steep slope with loose volcanic scree that get into your boots and make you slip all the way. What a torture! As Nunook said: "naik satu, jatuh dua". At this rate, it seems that we'll never reach the top, but no mountain is impossible to climb.

The smoking crater of this very active volcano looks awesome, but the film broke inside my camera while I was reloading and all the summit shots were lost. I'll take some again the next time I climb Semeru.