January 12th, 2014
In the eastern part of the island of Java, which is located in Indonesia, there is a place of amazing beauty, but very dangerous in nature - the Kawah Ijen volcano. The volcano is located at an altitude of about 2400 meters above sea level, the diameter of its crater is 175 meters, and the depth is 212 meters. In its mouth there is probably the strangest and most frightening lake of a beautiful apple-emerald color, in which only the Terminator would dare to swim, since instead of water it contains sulfuric acid. Or more precisely, a mixture of sulfuric and hydrochloric acid with a volume of 40 million tons.
The famous French photographer Olivier Grunewald recently made several trips to the sulfur mines in Kawaha Ijen volcano crater, located in East Java, Indonesia. There he did it using special equipment breathtaking surreal photographs this place in the moonlight, illuminated by torches and the blue flame of burning molten sulfur.
See photo © Olivier Grunewal.
Descent into the caldera of the Kawaha Ijen volcano, where there is a lake with sulfuric acid a kilometer wide. Sulfur is mined on its banks
Each liter of this deadly slurry contains an additional 5 grams of molten aluminum. In total, the lake, according to rough estimates, contains more than 200 tons of aluminum. On the surface of the lake the temperature fluctuates around 60 degrees, and at its bottom it’s all 200!
Acidic gases and steam are released from yellowish pieces of sulfur
So that people could imagine the danger the lake poses to their lives, an experiment was conducted. A sheet of aluminum was lowered into the lake for 20 minutes; even as it was immersed, it began to become covered with bubbles, and after all this time, the aluminum sheet became thin, like a piece of fabric.
A worker breaks off a piece of solid sulfur. Then the sulfur is carried to the weighing station
However, the lake and the crater of the Kawah Ijen volcano itself are not used to attract tourists, but for the extraction of sulfur in conditions that are very unfavorable for humans. And there is a countless amount of sulfur in this crater, but since this is still Southeast Asia, manual labor is completely used.
Night. A miner with a torch is inside the crater of the Ijen Kawaha volcano, looking at a stream of liquid sulfur glowing an uncanny blue:
The workers, local residents without any protective suits or gas masks, and inhaling the smell of sulfur is even disgusting, extract pieces of sulfur day and night, using only their unprotected hands and a scarf tied on their face to protect their mouth and nose.
Miners work here in hellish conditions while mining sulfur. Photographer Olivier Grunewald described the smell here as unbearable, requiring a mask or gas mask for safety. Some of the miners wear them, the rest work without them.
Miners with crowbars used to break off pieces of sulfur:
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A worker puts pieces of sulfur into baskets to carry it out of the volcano:
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Do you think this is all drawn? Watch the video:
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These bizarre shapes were formed from a flow of liquid sulfur inside the crater of the Kawaha Ijen volcano. When sulfur is molten, it is blood red in color. As it cools it becomes more and more yellow
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Molten sulfur drips from a ceramic pipe that condenses sulfur gases from the volcano into liquid. Then it cools, hardens, and workers mine it
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The miner reached his destination with his cargo. Miners make two or three sulfur trips per day, earning about $13 US per shift for their hard work.
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Mechanism for initial sulfur processing, where large pieces are broken down into smaller pieces
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Then pieces of sulfur are placed over the fire and it melts again
Photo 21.
Molten sulfur is poured into containers
The last stage of this process is the distribution of liquid sulfur on the cooling plates. Once it has cooled and turned into sulfur sheets, they are sent to local rubber vulcanization plants and other industrial facilities.
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Photographer Olivier Grunewald: “It feels like you’re on another planet.” Grunewald lost one camera and two lenses in the harsh conditions of the crater. When filming was finished, he threw all his belongings in the trash: the sulfur smell was so strong that it would be impossible to get rid of it.
And now the daily report from this mine:
An Indonesian miner carries sulfur from the Ijen volcano May 24, 2009 near Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
An acid-filled lake inside the crater of the Ijen volcano is 200 meters deep and a kilometer wide. Photo taken on May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. The lake is filled with a solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride at a temperature of 33 Cº. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A worker repairs pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe at the Ijen volcano crater May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. The molten sulfur flows out of the pipes in a deep red color, and as it cools, it gradually turns yellow and hardens. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Workers are repairing pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe near the Ijen volcano crater on May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
In this photo taken through a segment of a replacement ceramic pipe, workers are repairing a large sulfur condensation pipe. Ijen volcano complex May 24, 2009 in the vicinity of Banyuwangi, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Workers are repairing pipes in which sulfur dioxide gases condense. May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A piece of sulfur extracted from the Ijen volcano. Photo taken on May 24, 2009, East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A miner extracts sulfur from a pipe at the Ijen volcano crater on May 24, 2009 in East Java, Indonesia. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A miner carries sulfur to his baskets near the crater of the Ijen volcano on May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
A miner takes a short break while working near the Ijen volcano on May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Baskets loaded with gray, ready to be carried up the steep crater walls and then to the weigh station. May 24, 2009. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)
Well, how can you not admire the island of Java! There are so many cultural monuments, beautiful temples and important shrines there. It has an attractive natural beauty. What a wealth and variety of vegetation here! For us northerners, palm trees are a symbol of distant hot countries, but here they are sources of food, clothing, and housing. Coconut, banana, sago, rattan, sugar - and more than 200 varieties of palm trees grow here. In the colorful thickets of the Javanese rainforests there is still an abundance of animal life (although the local one has already disappeared).
Volcanoes stretch along the coast of the island, more than fifty volcanoes. Their purple peaks exude feathery plumes of smoke, and sometimes scorching black ash with fiery red lava, mercilessly licking up everything it encounters on its way.
Here, on the island of Java, there is such an impossible miracle of nature as the Kawa Ijen volcano, glowing neon blue in the night, like a giant gas burner.
It is part of the Ijen stratovolcano complex. Fantastic and stunning, with truly cosmic panoramas, the unforgettable sulfur volcano Kawah Ijen (Kawah Ijen)…
Sights of the island of Java, as well as desires and realities
Yes, the island of Java is full of attractions, the number of them is simply crazy!
Eager eyes ran wild when I read about Borobodur, about the Prambanan complex of Buddhist and Hindu temples with its giant Loro Jonggrang, dedicated to the three Hindu gods. I really wanted to visit the hot lake, whose vapors form giant bubbles up to three meters in diameter. And also see the jungle, coffee and tea plantations!
I rushed to write down the names of interesting places. We still need this! Yes, that too! And this is what we need!!! Alas, for my desires, the vacation should be simply dimensionless. Therefore, on this trip of ours, which had a specific purpose, out of all the splendor of the island of Java, we could afford to get acquainted with only three of its natural masterpieces:
- Volcano Ijen,
- Waterfall in the tropical forest
- Volcano Bromo.
About the joy of new meetings and acquaintances
Temples, museums, palaces, beaches and so on - all this, of course, is magnificent, but, nevertheless, the most vivid and memorable impressions on a trip come from meeting people.
In the evening we arrived in the town of Banyuwangi, from where we will go to see the sunrise at the Kawa Ijen volcano. Muslim quarter, Muslim clothing, Muslim cafe. Sanya asks for a menu. They bring a cardboard with a menu. The husband reaches out his hand for him, but the girl in the headscarf, without looking, slams it on the table and, without saying a word, walks away.
Sorry miss, plz that “Bintang”!
Silence in response. Sanya repeats, then again. The girl looks at him from behind the counter and pointedly turns away.
When traveling, no one is immune from unpleasant alterations. We had something similar. But one of the important rules for travelers is to firmly remember that there are more good people in any country in the world than bad ones and that rarely does a family exist without a freak. Knowing this first rule for travelers allows you to maintain peace of mind.
We thought about it. Leave? But hungry stomachs insisted that we must wait. Fate gave us signs, but we carelessly missed them.
Finally we were able to place an order. I chose ayam goreng and fries, Sanya chose squid in pineapple and salad.
The second rule of the traveler
As time went. The Thais had already eaten and gone to their rooms, and we were still waiting. Finally, the moment came when we were completely desperate, and then the subtle psychologists of Javanese catering, who expertly calculated the limits of our patience, served us our dinner.
Ayam goreng is fried chicken, if anyone doesn’t know. But there was clearly a rooster on my plate. Moreover, one who lived a long and difficult life. Surely he dodged the hands of the cooks and died a natural death. And so his mummified leg was fried and offered to me. The taste of the dish completely confirmed my guess.
At first, the stomach was happy about the addition of calories, but after taking a closer look at what was shoved into it, it suddenly went into unconsciousness. Like I didn’t want to eat at all... I didn’t even try the potatoes.
Sanya was brought his salad, so generously dressed with rich yellow mayonnaise that not a single component of it was visible underneath. He picked the squid...
That was the end of our dinner. It was worth waiting so long...
But the fatal little bit that was still eaten was enough.
Somewhere in Indonesia, in the eastern part of the island of Java, the village of Tuban is lost. There, local residents make pies from the soil. For this, silty soil from rice fields is used and this mmmm... product is considered very healthy and is even said to have a good taste.
What we ate was clearly worse and much less healthy.
We paid and went to our room. The hotel has a huge courtyard, tiny rooms with bare walls, but the room had air conditioning.
The cockerel I had eaten must have been a fighting bird, because by this point my stomach was desperately crying out for help. It's good that I travel with a big bag of medicine! Having collected a handful of healing tablets and pills, Sanya and I used them and began to wait for the results. My body, in conjunction with the antibiotic and no-shpa, crushed the cunning bird and became quiet, but not Sanin...
Neither Sanya nor I could sleep and didn’t want to. We whiled away the time by studying an Indonesian phrasebook. It contained a bunch of interesting words! For example:
But what shocked me most was the word wife - isteri. Well, just the little things: kaki- leg, kakak– brother, etc.
We brightened up the remaining time by watching our favorite film with Harrison Ford, “Six Days Seven Nights.” He approached very organically and lifted the mood that had fallen.
Here’s another rule for an experienced traveler: the most important thing is not to lose optimism.
On the way to the Kawa Ijen volcano
12 o'clock at night, we pack into minivans in the hall and set off on the road to the Kawah Ijen volcano.
There are practically no signs on the roads. How drivers navigate there is a mystery to me. The roads themselves are narrow, winding and bumpy. Of course, they are single lane, but Indonesians love to overtake each other. More than once, not twice, my heart sank, watching us rush straight into the head of an oncoming car, whose speed was by no means less than ours. But, fortunately, everything worked out.
This is a typical Indonesian driving style plus an Indonesian interpretation of the rules of the road. Although, who knows, maybe these are the same rules here?
We were driving, and somehow imperceptibly, bouncing on bumps and on serpentine turns, I fell asleep. And when I woke up, the road, the forest - everything seemed to be washed away by streams of pouring rain. It would be more correct to call it streams of water that fell unstoppably from the sky to the ground. We drove for about another hour, the downpour showed no signs of stopping.
What to do?
Three o'clock in the morning. We are at the parking lot. From here begins the ascent to the Ijen volcano, whose height above sea level is 2799 meters. We are sitting in the minivan and thinking, and the wall of water is still falling from the sky.
Four o'clock. The rain continues to fall, with no end in sight. It takes about an hour to walk along the caldera to the crater of the volcano.
Our Doctor V makes a commanding decision - to move forward. Song hands out plastic raincoats to everyone. We, like candy, wrap ourselves in this rustling packaging and splash through the puddles.
And Sanya is getting worse! He constantly goes to the toilet, but is determined to get up and film everything.
Kawa Ijen crater, sulfur and blue lava
It must be said right away that the Kawa Ijen volcano is not like its counterparts. Inside its volcanic bowl, it is not fire-boiling lava seething, but quietly spread out, surrounded by rocks, is an amazingly beautiful unearthly lake with the same name - Kawah Ijen.
Its dimensions are 950 by 600 meters, its volume is 36 million cubic meters. But it is not filled with water, but with a mixture of concentrated sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, and hot: its temperature on the surface is about 60 degrees, at the bottom - even higher. Once a sheet of aluminum was lowered into this glorious lake for twenty minutes, and when it was taken out, the thickness of the metal became comparable to the thinnest fabric.
Can you imagine what would happen if an eruption suddenly started? When will the magma boil the eerie contents of the lake and tons of acid will rise into the air? This threat is not unfounded. The Indonesian government set Kawa Ijen's activity level to a yellow alert in 2012 and has yet to lower the alert.
But Lake Kawah Ijen looks extraordinary! Wonder of the world!
The color of its surface is changeable, it is sometimes apple green, sometimes emerald, sometimes malachite with a turquoise tint. On the shore and in the distance, on gray rocks with veins, various-sized blocks of bright yellow color are scattered. This is native sulfur.
Interestingly, at first it is liquid, a beautiful dark red color and creeps along the slopes like lava. As it cools, it brightens, acquiring the color of amber. Then it turns yellow and becomes hard.
At night, liquid sulfur oxidizes and begins to glow with unreal blue lights and flashes, fantastically transforming the surroundings. This is blue lava. And during the day, burning marks itself with smoky white puffs.
Along the slopes of the crater crater there are many streams of smoke, either steam or smoke. Most likely, through cracks, water vapor escapes from the depths under pressure, and with it toxic hydrogen chloride, asphyxiating sulfur dioxide and even more harmful and insidious hydrogen sulfide.
Why is sulfur needed?
Accumulations of native sulfur, especially like the rich one here, are not found very often on the planet. And the deposit of this substance at Kawa Ijen is open. Moreover, it practically does not contain impurities. Here, sulfur ore is easy to mine; there is no need to process or enrich it.
And sulfur is needed. And even very necessary. It is necessary for almost all industries. Without it, it is impossible to produce rubber, fabrics, paper, medicines, plastics, fertilizers, explosives, paints, and cosmetics.
Climbing a volcano with sulfur
We go to the Kawah Ijen volcano in complete darkness.
The headlamp reveals only a patch of water dust in front of the face. But it’s not difficult for us to rise. Our legs, trained by Nepal, carry us easily up the winding path. But – rain! He ruins everything. When you walk, heat is released, and you are in the bag. Gradually, I became completely damp: on top from the rain, on the inside from sweat.
I climb the mountain, pushing the wet darkness with my flashlight, and suddenly I realize that I am walking alone - Sanya is not nearby. I look around, spinning in place. I see that Sanya has fallen behind. Apparently he's feeling really bad. Then I walk next to him.
I am no longer happy that the rain has stopped, leaving only a drizzle. I hardly notice that the wind has risen, that my wet sneakers are squelching through the puddles. Sana feels bad! And I can’t help him in any way...
We rise to the very top. The flashlight beam picks out the fencing railings. In front of them, behind them, tourist people are rushing in different directions. There are still a lot of people sitting on the stones.
Officially, it is closed here, but special guides were immediately replaced by a bunch of volunteers from local sulfur miners.
Some local runs up to us: “We have to go. Five people are with me.”
It is necessary, it means necessary. We look around, out of our entire group, only one Shrimpman caught up with us, the rest were hopelessly behind.
Why just stand there and freeze – let’s go.
Like in the underworld, if it exists, of course.
If we were climbing along a well-compacted path, about two meters wide, now we are going steeply down the cobblestones, slippery from the rain, along a barely visible snaking path. It will be difficult for a mountain goat to get through here too!
The rain and current drizzle make it incredibly slippery. Something crumbles underfoot. We are walking in a tight chain, if one falls, it will be difficult for the others to stay on their feet. Suddenly Sanya slides from behind, my heart skips a beat...
“Oh my God, where are we going! Is dawn really worth it? “- I mentally ask. It’s dark... Slipping, we crawl forward a little more. It’s hard to breathe... There’s a suffocating smell of sulfur... My head hurts a little... Some French woman felt sick. I was scared - I need to wear masks!
From somewhere on the side, a dense cloud of sulfur fumes creeps towards us and covers us. Eww. What a stench! We put on our masks, but our eyes still water. Sore throat. In the darkness we slide and move on. Sanya stumbles again and is caught by several hands at once, including mine. My heart is beating... Where are we going? For what? Unclear…
Sanya, let's go back, I don't like it here... It's dark, you can't see anything...
Look, Katya is all like you,” Sanya suddenly discovers my resemblance to her daughter, “Here she is also turning halfway.
Okay,” I immediately back down, “Let’s move on...
I have a cough and my eyes are watering...
We see blue fire
Fire,” the guide walking ahead shouts and pokes forward into the cloudy sulfur darkness, “blue Fire!”
Fire,” the tourists jump joyfully after him.
I take a closer look - indeed, somewhere a little lower and to the left there is a glimpse of a bluish tongue... So here it is - we are heading towards blue flashes! Okay, just a little bit left and we’ll see if it was worth it. We're getting there.
Flashes play in the depths of a narrow opening, completely filled with a thick cloud of vapors. Sanya rushes there with a camera.
It’s dark, damp, you can’t even breathe through a mask... Damn. I'm standing. Then I decide, since I’m already here, I’ll go and see what Sanya is interested in there. I go down, walk in and see something blue in a faint stroke on the far wall. It looks like a long sunbeam, only bluish-blue in color. But Sanya is not there.
“Sanya!” - I’m calling. Silence in response. - “SANYA!”
I suddenly get scared: although it has already become a little lighter, such thick vapors are swirling here... Sanya, where did he dive, driven by his enthusiasm? How can I find him here?
“SAAAAANYYY!” – I no longer hesitate to yell. One of our Thais comes up to me (look, they crawled quickly). "Everything is fine?" - asks. Surprisingly, at critical moments, my English, which is at the level of “I understand, but I can’t say,” progresses quickly.
Sanya takes pictures of the blue lights, and I’m waiting for him...
OK,” the Thai man answers me and a moment later: “Taking pictures?”
A manic gleam appears in his eyes, and he rushes into the same opening between the stones. Damn photographers!
Finally, Sanya emerges from the sulfurous clouds.
Yes, I heard, I heard, but I couldn’t answer - you immediately cough,” he said in response to my unspoken question.
Shall we go? I want to go up and quickly...
And we began to rise.
Who has a bad job?
Friends, are there any of you dissatisfied with your work? I am now extremely pleased with mine. A meeting with sulfur miners in the crater of the Kawa Ijen volcano cured me from possible dissatisfaction with the assigned volume of work, the boss’s overly strict demands, or the salary being insufficiently high.
Sulfur mining is occupied by local residents who work without any protective clothing, not even face masks - they make do with a piece of cloth. Poisonous gases mercilessly destroy their respiratory system, corrode their lungs, and crumble their teeth. Therefore, it is rare for sulfur miners to live more than thirty years.
There are no safety precautions, and sulfur is also capable of spontaneous combustion. Work goes on both day and night under blue flashes.
Step by step, slowly, coughing, we emerge from the hydrogen sulfide gas clouds.
A sulfur porter walks past us. On his shoulders is a yoke, with two baskets attached to the ends. The porter stops and lowers his load. Sanya comes up, he wants to try on the burden. He goes in for sports every day, lifting weights of 80 kg. But a narrow stick, poorly suited for carrying heavy objects, is even inconvenient to lift. The porter comes to the rescue. Sanya lifts and immediately lowers the bamboo device with sulfur.
The daily earnings of these people are $5. Far from being athletes, they fill both baskets with pieces of sulfur weighing 70-80 kilograms and carry them for several kilometers - first up from the crater, and then down to the foot of the Kawa Ijen volcano. They make two passes per shift.
What does the forced hard labor of galley rowers mean in comparison with this?
The porter offers to buy sulfur figurines from him. They use glasses or plastic bottles to scoop up still liquid sulfur and pour it into molds, like the ones our kids use for sand cakes, and when the contents harden, they sell it. This is extra work for workers. We buy and take photos as souvenirs.
But here we are at the top of the Ijen volcano, and here they are, the Perilian’s acquaintances. Sanya's excitement gradually fades away, his weakness intensifies, he is all green.
We are going downhill. It dawned, it began to rain again, but we didn’t put on our hoods: we couldn’t get any more wet. Here our vocabulary was enriched with another Indonesian word - “boka-boka”. It means something like - mani come on! Sanya clicked on another hard worker, who taught us this word, accompanying us, for better understanding, with an international gesture.
The good doctor will heal everyone
Finally we reach the parking lot where minibuses are waiting for us. We sit down and wait for the others to return. It was completely light, the rain had passed, the sun appeared.
Sanya hits. He's dozing.
Members of our group are returning. Seeing Sanino’s condition, the doctors become more active and give him Thai medicines. After about twenty minutes, Sanya feels better. “It will be necessary, on the way back, since we are flying through Bangkok, to buy a couple of packs of such miraculous medicines,” flashes through my head.
Besides us, there are 18 Thais in the group, and every member of our group approached Sana, everyone was worried. And this is not because the rules of good manners require it, but because we are also part of their gang.
It's a shame!
How did you like the lake? - The physiotherapist asks us.
Lake? – Sanya is surprised.
Yes, acidic. Haven't you seen him?
It turned out that we did not reach just a few meters from its shore! They didn’t see it behind the gray-yellow fumes!
So we will come again!!! – I’m trying to calm Sanya down, he’s upset to the point of tears.
The group of Thais walked more slowly and ended up in the bowl of the Kawa Ijen volcano half an hour later than us. At this time the sun came out, the wind rose and dispersed the evaporation. And our friends, walking along the very shore of the lake, clicked it in all its glory from different angles.
Only listening to them, I realized that our path to God knows where on the slippery stones was actually a descent into the crater to the lake. Hmmm... Really poisonous fumes, how they slow down your brain. But what a shame!
To all adventure lovers who intend to visit this exceptional place, my advice:
- The main thing is a face mask with a filter. We bought it from Moscow at the “Spetsodezhda” store for 500 rubles, there were more expensive ones with bells and whistles, but the most ordinary one was enough.
- Shoes. If you decide to go down into the crater, then there is nothing to do there in slippers, flip-flops, flip-flops and the like. Only sneakers with protectors or trekking shoes.
And keep in mind: in hotels there are no heaters and the sun does not always shine, and shoes take a long time to dry. - Raincoat and warm clothes. If I repeated this path, I wouldn’t refuse gloves.
- Water and chocolate. Water – to rinse your mouth, rinse your face. Chocolate will give you the burst of energy needed to get up.
The car started moving, we cast a farewell glance towards Kawa Ijen and set off on our way to the next attraction of the island of Java - Bromo volcano. We will spend three days at its foot, filming sunrises and sunsets. Turning to a bright future, I fell asleep.
RSS Email Ijen is an active volcano located on the eastern part of the island of Java. Volcano Ijen is known throughout the world as the volcano with the largest acid lake (Kawa Ijen). An acidic lake of turquoise shades is located in the crater of a volcano. You can go down to the lake and stand on the shore of this fantastic natural attraction.
In general, Ijen is a whole complex of volcanoes, the highest of which is
- Raung - 3332 m
- Merapi – 2800m
- Ijen – 2368 m
The most interesting of them is, of course, Ijen, since you can not only climb it, but also go down into the crater itself, see blue fire, burning sulfur, and of course the acid lake.
Blue fire is a unique natural phenomenon that can be seen in the crater of Mount Ijen at night. What is it? Blue fire is the combustion of hydrogen sulfide at a temperature of 600 degrees Celsius, which is what causes the blue color of the fire. The glow is not strong, so it can only be seen at night. And that is why most people climb the Ijen volcano at night, to first see how the sulfur burns in blue, and then at dawn the extraordinary views of the Ijen volcano.
From the island of Bali
From the island of Bali you can get to the Ijen volcano on your own or as part of an excursion.
You can get there on your own using a rented moped or car. In this case, you will need to go to the ferry in the town of Gilimanuk. The ferry to Java runs every hour, the time by water is 60 minutes. You will need to pay money for the crossing. On the ferry you can sit, have a snack, and generally relax. Once you set foot on the island of Java, you will need to drive to Banyuwangi and from there to the Ijen volcano to the Pos Paltuding camp. It is from here that the ascent to the volcano begins. There is a toilet, parking for cars, a small shop, and even a guesthouse.
In principle, as part of an excursion from the island of Bali, exactly the same road awaits you. We went with a friend of ours on the island, who organized an excursion for us and 5 other people. The road from Kuta to the ferry took about 6 hours, then the ferry took 1 hour, and after that another hour and a half along Java to the Ijen volcano.
From the island of Java
If you are coming from the island of Java, then you need to get to the city of Bondowoso and then go to the Ijen volcano.
You can also arrive to the Ijen volcano in advance and stay in the hotels closest to it - Arabica Hotel (Bondovoso village), Homestay Anyar
With excursion from Bali
You can buy an excursion to Ijen Volcano in advance and comfortably travel and climb the volcano together with excursion guides.
Description of Ijen volcano and cost of visiting
To reach the crater of the Ijen volcano you will need to climb to a height of 500 meters from a height of 1875 meters to 2368 meters, the road length is about 3 km. It takes about 1.5-2 hours, it all depends on your physical fitness. After this we descend into the crater to a height of 200 meters. The radius of the Ijen volcano crater is 361 meters.
It is best to arrive and start climbing Ijen Volcano at night. A ticket to climb the volcano costs 150,000 rupees per person. The ticket office is located here, at the foot of the volcano. Next, people stand and wait for the passage to the volcano to be opened. Usually it opens around one in the morning, but it can open later due to the activity of the volcano; do not forget that the volcano is active. We were lucky and the passage was opened exactly at one in the morning. So we took our time and walked up at the usual pace. To see the blue fire, you need to be in the crater by about 4 am. This way you will have time to enjoy the amazing spectacle. After 5 am it gets lighter and the blue light is almost invisible.
Be sure to take an aspirator with you, because it will be difficult for you to breathe near burning sulfur, take flashlights with you, and also dress warmly - I wore 3 warm sweaters, it is also fashionable to take gloves and a hat. It’s very cold to get up at night, 10-12 degrees, and I even saw people in fur coats :) Most likely these are locals. We also had a mask, but we didn't need it.
Our ascent to the Ijen volcano and descent into the crater to the lake
We arrived at the Ijen volcano around 12 o'clock at night, slowly bought tickets and waited for the passage to open. At exactly one o'clock the passage was opened and we, together with a crowd of other people, rushed to conquer the Ijen volcano. We walked in a group of 5 people, but there was absolutely no place to get lost here - there was only one road and it was wide enough. We walked in pitch darkness, using flashlights to turn left and right, and thanks to this we could see very little of where we were going. On the way back we walked when the sun had already risen and it was very interesting to see the places we walked through at night :)
We were dressed warmly enough for 12 degrees Celsius, stopped a couple of times to rest and then set off again. In the end, our climb took only about an hour and a half. We were happy because we had time to look at the blue fire in the crater of the volcano. The road was not difficult and the walk was quite comfortable - everyone chose their own pace and the crowd quickly dispersed.
But the descent into the crater of the volcano was not at all easy; I think it would take about 45 more minutes. We were already walking in a line, person after person. We walked on the rocks and in some places we had to almost climb, holding on to the ledges of the huge rocks with our hands. You can also easily slip here, so always watch your step. The descent took a long time, about 45 minutes. At the very beginning of the descent, a blue light was visible in the distance and we were getting closer and closer to it.
The burning of sulfur is a very beautiful and unusual sight at night. Blue flames floated up here and there. It `s very unusual. It is quite difficult to take good photographs here, because there is a lot of smoke and everything is floating in the photo. Gradually it began to get light and the blue lights were no longer so clearly visible, but we began to look around and finally saw where we were.
Of course, it is very unusual to walk through the area in complete darkness, and then, at dawn, to finally see the entire landscape. We were completely delighted, we were surrounded high up by large stones of different sizes and shapes, and in general the landscape was somehow cosmic, as if on another planet.
The photo shows how, like a snake, one after another, we descended from the very top of the Ijen volcano into its crater.
Everything around was smoking, it was sulfur burning. Here, the locals extract it and put it in a device, which they then carry first from the crater to the top of the volcano, and then descend to its foot. Then they go back to the crater - and so on, 2 trips a day. For this they receive 4-6 dollars a day, which is very little by our standards, but by the standards of the island of Java they earn good money. All workers are mostly thin and not tall. Due to the fact that they constantly breathe sulfur, their health is not very good, and 30-year-old guys look like 50-year-olds. They do not use special protection; the best they can do is cover their nose and mouth with a rag when they are very close to sulfur fires.
We, at the bottom of the crater, still wore our respirators. Of course, it’s also not very comfortable to breathe in, but it’s much easier than without it.
We decided not to go down to the lake itself, but to take beautiful photographs against its background at a slightly higher elevation. Lake Ijen - Kawa Ijen is striking in its color, it is turquoise and very beautiful. Its depth is as much as 200 meters!
I can’t even believe that it is very dangerous. Although, you can even touch it. The temperature on the surface is 60 degrees Celsius, while in the depths it is 200 degrees.
We stayed in the crater of the volcano for about an hour and after that we began our way up. For some reason it was easier for me to go up than to go down, since it was still light and every pebble was visible, and when going down I was very afraid of falling and not seeing anything around me.
From above, the crater of the volcano looks even more unusual; it was my first time in such a place. It's like it's really on another planet.
This is the weight weighing 70-80 kg that workers carry to the foot of the volcano 2 times a day for a very meager salary.
By the way, local workers will offer you to buy sulfur figurines from them for a small price. You can please them and buy figurines as souvenirs.
And this is a view of the neighboring mountain, and in general, the way back was very beautiful, we walked through the area and saw how the clouds were below us.
Today we will have a story about a very unusual place, which is unlikely even in dreams. But believe me, it is real and exists. Meet Kawah Ijen Volcano, also known as the world's only volcano with blue lava! In its surroundings you can find hot springs, waterfalls, volcanic landscapes and much more that were formed as a result of volcanic activity. But first things first.
First, let's deal with the name. There is no single name for this place. The volcano itself is called Ijen. And there is a large sulfurous lake in it, which is called Kava(x). But at the same time, there is a whole volcanic complex here, which is also called Ijen. And in order not to get confused, the main object of this story is called Kawa Ijen. 
This natural wonder is located on the island of Java and is the border of two districts: Banuwangi and Bondowoso. Approximately twelve thousand people live in the surrounding area. In addition to the caldera, which will be given special attention, you can also find stratovolcanoes, volcanic cones and craters here. This is all located within a radius of twenty kilometers from Kawa Ijen. In order to climb it, it is enough to spend one and a half to two hours. No special physical training is required for this. Lake Kawah, located in the caldera, has a maximum diameter of about one kilometer, and its deepest point is at a depth of two hundred meters. Its shore is a large deposit of natural sulfur. True, due to a number of negative aspects since the beginning of observation of the lake, its area has decreased by more than ten times. 
I can tell a lot about this place, but I won’t drag it out, and I’ll start with its highlight - blue lava. How is this possible? For the sake of fairness, it should be reported that this is not ordinary lava in the sense that everyone is accustomed to. Its peculiarity is the presence of a significant amount of sulfur. When the mass flows to the surface, it generates sulfur dioxide, which burns at a temperature of about six hundred degrees Celsius. And if you look closely at the photographs accompanying this article, you will notice this. One feature should be noted - this amazing effect is best visible at night due to the fact that the glow from the combustion of gas is very weak. During the day, as a rule, the lava is red. But at night you can see a real extravaganza of colors here! This place attracts not only ordinary visitors, but also journalists who like to shoot documentaries here. To avoid disappointment from your visit, it should be noted that such a phenomenon can, alas, not be observed every night. The reason for this may be either weak lava emissions or a ban on visiting this place due to the unstable situation. 
Now let's return directly to the caldera. Its highest point is the Merapi stratovolcano, rising 2803 meters above sea level. It is located on the southeastern slope. In general, most of the volcanic formations here arose on the southern side. But in the north, an arched ridge has formed. The subduction zone on which Kawa Ijen is located stretches for more than twenty-five kilometers. When approaching, you can’t even tell that there is a volcano nearby. Around it lie kava plantations and rice fields, and on the slopes there are fields and meadows. 
Lake Kawa(x) is a combination of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids. Its usual color is emerald. On the surface the temperature is about sixty degrees Celsius, although at depth it can exceed two hundred degrees! Once, enthusiasts decided to find out how dangerous the mixture in the lake was, and they stuck a sheet of aluminum into it for five minutes (which, by the way, reacts quite well with acids). And when they pulled him out, there wasn’t much left of him, let’s say. When visiting this place, you must wear protective respirators with filters that will protect your respiratory system from harmful and very toxic sulfur fumes. But there is also a positive moment here. So, due to the fact that the gases are heated at high temperatures, a voltage discharge often occurs in it, which is accompanied by the appearance of blue electrical flashes. Moreover, they can reach five meters in length. So to speak, lightning in miniature. The overall picture is complemented by the presence of five grams of molten aluminum in one liter of liquid. Just an explosive mixture!
Geologically, this territory began to form in the Pleistocene era. Then a caldera appeared. And volcanic cones have already begun to form on it. Now we can say with confidence that the main “building” material is basalt, basaltic andesites, simply andesites, picrobasalts and dacites. Kawa Ijen is an active volcano. The last major eruption here occurred three weeks in November in 1936. Then, due to fairly high activity directly in the caldera, even water streams overflowed their banks. But even now, standing on the shore of the volcano, you can observe that it is simply dozing, but not sleeping. Thus, the color of Kawaha water changes regularly. It is sometimes green, sometimes white, sometimes brown. Also, due to the activity of sulfur gas, there is strong foaming. And if you’re lucky, you can feel even minor tremors. Their number reaches several hundred per year, so it is quite possible to experience slight shifts in the letosphere.
Of interest here is the extraction of sulfur, which is carried out in the traditional way - manually. It should be noted that this work is not easy, and it is also extremely dangerous to health. The situation for local workers is complicated by the fact that they have virtually no respirators. To protect the respiratory tract, wet rags are most often used and placed in the mouth. But even these measures help little, and according to some data, hard workers in this job live on average only 47 years. By the way, from above, workers with baskets on their shoulders complement the overall picture quite well. But their work is still really hard. Some tourists who have been here donate their respirators to workers. Well, this is a valuable gift! The extraction process usually looks like this: Initially, sulfur comes to the surface in the form of a molten red liquid that flows from cracks. Over time, it cools and changes its color to yellow. After which the frozen substance is broken up with crowbars and shovels, loaded into baskets and taken to the loading station. Despite this artisanal mining method, Kawa Ijen produces the purest and most expensive sulfur in Indonesia, which is used to whiten sugar and vulcanize rubber. 
While staying in this place (especially going down the slope towards the blue lava), how can you not remember Dante’s Divine Comedy and his nine circles of hell! Initially, when climbing, you get the impression of a living area, but gradually empty and lifeless slopes appear, clouds of acrid smoke, hot flowing sulfur and, at the very end, a smooth, emerald and dangerous lake.
