The Kawah Ijen
The Kawah Ijen volcano complex is a group of stratovolcanoes located at Banyuwangi Regency of East Java in Indonesia. It is inside a larger caldera Ijen, which is about 20 kilometers wide. The Gunung Merapi stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex. The name "Merapi" means "mountain of fire".. West of Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometer-wide turquoise-colored acid crater lake. The lake is the site of a labor-intensive of sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are carried by hand from the crater floor to the nearby Paltuding Valley to get paid. The work is low-paid and very onerous… Many other post-caldera cones and craters are located within the caldera or along its rim. The largest concentration of post-caldera cones run east-west across the southern side of the caldera. The active crater at Kawah Ijen has a diameter of 722 meters (2,369 ft) and a surface area of 0.41 square kilometers (0.16 sq mi). It is 200 meters (660 ft) deep and has a volume of 36 cubic hectometers (29,000 acre·ft). The lake is recognized as the largest highly acidic Crater Lake in the world. It is also a source for the river Banyupahit, resulting in highly acidic and metal-enriched river water which has a significant detrimental effect on the downstream river ecosystem.
Getting there and Away
From Bali
Depart from the northern part is much closer to get there. By private car from Lovina to the port of Gilimanuk approximately 1,5 hours drive and continue crossing by ferry to Ketapang for one hour ride. From there take the jeep to the starting point Pos Paltuding..
Overnight in Ketapang or Banyuwangi is a good option before proceeding to hike the next day early morning to see the sunrise, Blue fire and meet the sulpur miners.. After hiking return to Banyuwangi or continue drive Mount Bromo 5 - 6 hours. If you are planning to visit the Meru Betiri National Park you need to return to Banyuwangi and continue another 6 hours drive by jeep passing the villages, rice-fields, coffee Cocoa and Rubber plantation...
Daily trip to the kawah ijen depart from Kuta, Ubud, Munduk, Lovina and Pemuteran in Bali. Learn more about this trip here...
The sulfur miners at Kawah Ijen
The Kawah Ijen
Trail to the Kawah Ijen
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