A Connection to the inner Earth - Mount Bromo is one of the great stars of the Indonesian volcanos and one of the most actives on Java, though not that active as moody Merapi is. Most remarkable is the unique surrounding of Bromo. It looks rather as it would be part of a scenery out of an arabic fairy-tale. It's defenitely one of the most impressive landscapes I have ever seen.
Bromo's Caldera.
Bromo has a couple of neighbours and they all are situated within a sand desert, which looks pretty much as it has been a lake in former times, but dried out. Bromo's cone-shaped neighbour Mount Batok looks on the first glance more impressive, for it's green colour and furrowed surface and it's almost perfect shape. It's higher than Bromo as well.
Though, Bromo is the star and the youngest of them. He had his last eruption in November 2010 until the end of January 2011.
Since the people who live around are members of the Tengger tribe who are not Muslims but Hindus, there is a small Hindu temple (Pura Luhur Poten) at the foot of the Bromo.
A deeper look inside. It's bubbling and steaming and one can hear it.
The thrill here is to walk up the 250 steps who lead to the edge of Bromo's caldera. It's an impressive look deep down into the steep hole which is connected to the inner of the earth. One can see the ground, where turquoise-coloured water is bubbling; from time to time steam clouds are coming up. Would be nice to have a walk around the caldera, but it's quite risky. Some parts one has to balance on the ridge of the caldera, and it's going steep down to both sides. No pleasant idea to fall into the crater.
Would be also interesting to have a look into the calderas of the two volcanos behind Bromo; but it's all steep and not easy to reach. By the way: the name 'Bromo' is derived from Brahma, one of the most important Hindu gods.
Bromo and it's neighbours seen from Penanjakan viewpoint. The green one in the foreground is Mount Batok (2,440 m), left of it Bromo (2,392 m), the protagonist; behind him is a bigger volcano; it's Gunung Kursi (2,581 m); behind Kursi is the biggest of the four, bigger as the three first together; that's Gunung Widudarum (2,614 m). The tallest in the very background is Gunung Semeru (3,676 m), the highest mountain on Java.
If one sees the picture above it looks pretty much as the sand desert were another former caldera of a much bigger volcano. I found this idea strengthened by another longer hike to the south and around the volcano group. It all looks like the caldera of a supervolcano of former times; compared to this the 'group of the four' appears small. Bromo, Batok and the others are comparable dwarfs. The cliffs and the mountains in the background were the inner border of the supervolcano. It looks pretty much as what one can see at Lake Toba on Sumatra.
