Cemara Lawang - The village close to Mount Bromo is a tiny spot on the map. From Penanjakan viewpoint one sees that it is situated in a great canyon. This canyon was in the past probably created by lava streams sliding downwards; comparable to the canyons at the foot of Mount Merapi; but this canyon is much bigger. If my theory of the supervolcano is correct, then the canyon was formed by the outflow of it.
Cemara Lawang at the edge of a clifflike slope. The sand desert downwards was probably a lake in former times. The village is also situated inside a canyon.
Cemara Lawang is up at 2,300 meters altitude, therefore it's cool or even cold here, particularly at nighttime. Temperatures can drop down to 0 degree celsius. What for a surprise in the tropes: normally it's always too hot, and suddenly it get's that cold!
The Tengger people around here are Hindus, and that has the great advantage of the absence of mosques. While in the verymost parts of Java nowadays mosques are everywhere (they built thousands in the last years), they cause a heavy noise pollution five times a day and even at 4:30 in the morning. It's unavoidable. In many cases one hears not only noise from one mosque, but from several mosques around. Sometimes they have 'special events' on whose the Imam announces whatever for a long time via the loudspeakers. Needless to add that it comes always as noisy as possible. Well, up here it's much more quiet, and quietness is somewhat really precious. And very seldom in our days.
From the village to Mount Bromo it's an easy walk of just a few hundred meters. The village is situated at the edge of a steep slope. From this edge there is a great view over Mount Bromo and it's four neighbours and additionally majestic Mount Semeru in the background.
All the accommodations are heavily overprized, particularly in high season, what is from July to September [!]. There is no tourist information here. The traveller is therefore depending on his guidebook or on the information given by the host of his guesthouse or the tour guides. Since the people here are thoroughly unqualified for anything but having only money in mind, information is poor and designed to make you booking a tour at them.
