Climbing Ijen Crater (Kawah Ijen) in East Java

I went to Ijen few weeks ago on my trip to explore East Java. Although we had a tight schedule, we still could manage to go to Ijen. It takes 3 km walk from the drop out point to reach the crater. But its worth climbing as the scenery is such a breathtaking one. It made me  feel as if the myth that there is a village above the clouds is real. You can see that your feet stand in the ground that even higher than the clouds.

On your way to reach the top, you will meet many locals passing around carrying 7-10 kgs sulfurs in their basket for living. When I asked how much the usually earn from selling it, one of them answered they get Rp.700 for each kg. And usually they climb 2 times a day, which means they could carry around 14-20 kgs. Can u count now how much money they actually earn every single day? Of course it is money outside sulfur products that they sell to tourists whom they meet and talk to while climbing Ijen. And tourist usually generous on money only by looking at their hard work.

Another surprising thing I found in Ijen is, you will hardly see domestic tourist there. Most of the visitors are European. To be specific they are mostly French. I could hear people speaking French all around me while climbing up the hills. I am not sure why this crater is so popular among French. Just like Bali for Aussies I guess. When I asked one of the tourist who eventually is a Belgian, he answered it is because French people just love climbing mountains. It has become their hobby as they got some mountains to climb in French, such as Alps and they wanna experience different mountains outside their country. Is it really?

Anyway, here are some snapshots....

Sandals might be not the proper thing to wear for climbing, but I broke my shoes already. ;P

This is it the main object to see

The greatest invention of all time, Water Closet (WC) in the middle of nowhere

Olivia