VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mountain Ijen, which has an altitude of 2,443 meters above sea level, has amazing enchantment. The mountain, which is located at the borders of Bondowoso and Banyuwangi regency, is quite often climbed by many tourists, both domestic and foreign tourists, because it is well known on its natural phenomenon at Ijen crater, namely blue fire. Climbing Mt. Ijen takes around 3 – 4 hours with sandy and steep rocks’ terrain.  Ijen crater has a depth of 200 meters with an area of 5,466 hectares. The enchantment of blue fire can be seen in the crater.

Blue fire is a coincidence that happens on an ongoing basis. Ijen Crater with huge sulfur content has high-pressure geothermal heat so that oxidation reaction occurs. The sulfur combustion reaction produces heat and light, and then this is accepted as blue color by the receptors of the human eyes. The best time to watch the blue fire in Ijen Crater is at dawn during  02.00-04.00 am of local time. To climb the mountain, we suggest you to climb it at night around 10.00 pm in order you can be relaxed. The trip to bottom of the crater is not easy to be passed because there is uphill track along 3 kilometers and about 700 meters downhill.

Besides the challenging tracks to Ijen crater, when going down to the crater, you should share space with sulfur miners who transport tens of kilograms of sulfur. Its condition will be more difficult if there are many climbers. The best month to watch the blue fire of Ijen crater is December because fog intensity is lower. Such a condition, you can watch the blue fire and blue water of lake without fog. If fog is high and thick, the blue fire is only faintly visible and it tends to dim, even it is not seen at all. After enjoying the blue fire, you can continue your trip to peak of Mt, Ijen which is located around 1 kilometer from the crater.  Over there, you can watch beautiful sunrise. From the peak of the mountain, you can enjoy beautiful panorama and even peak of Mt. Merapi which is located at the East of Ijen crater. So, what are you waiting for? Set your time to go to Bondowoso, East Java province to enjoy the blue fire.