Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 205

Police station In north Surabaya on Jl Raden Saleh
( T 031 568 8099). For emergencies, call T 031 199.
Post o ce The main post o ce (Mon-Thurs 8am-3pm,
Fri & Sat 8am-1pm) is at Jl Kebonrojo 10. To get there
from the city centre, take a #C, #P1, #P2, #PAC1 or #PAC2
bus from outside Tunjungan Plaza to the junction of Jl
Kebonrojo and Jl Bubutan. If you're just sending letters, the
Simpang post o ce is more central at Jl Taman Apsaril 1
(Mon-Thurs 8am-12.30pm, Fri 8-11am, Sat 8am-noon),
beside Taman Apsari Park.

absolutely spellbinding sunrise. here's a
Rp75,000 per person entry fee for the
park. To get to the base of Gunung
Bromo, you can walk (1hr; bring a torch
and follow the white pillars through the
Sea of Sand), get a horse (Rp60,000), or
hire a jeep for the morning to take in
both Gunung Bromo and Gunung
Penanjakan (Rp350,000). However you
get there, you'll still have to manage the
249 concrete stairs up to the crater rim,
from where there are great views down
into the smoking crater and back across
the Sea of Sand. Dress warmly.

THE BROMO REGION
he Bromo region is best known for its
awesome scenery. At its heart is a vast,
ancient volcanic crater with sheer walls
over 300m high, within which the
dramatic, still-smoking Gunung Bromo
(2329m) - one of three volcanoes in the
crater - rises up from the Sea of Sand,
a desolate plain at the crater's base.
Hundreds of thousands visit each year to
glimpse Bromo at sunrise.

Gunung Penanjakan
he best spot for postcard-perfect sunrise
views, taking in the entire Bromo area, is
Gunung Penanjakan (2770m). he whole
crater area lies below, Bromo smoking
and Semeru pu ng up regular plumes
while the sun rises dramatically in the
east. You can camp up here if you wish,
but you'll be invaded before dawn by the
hordes. Most visitors take the jeep tour
from Cemoro Lawang at around 4am
that will then drive across the Sea of Sand
to Bromo before returning to Cemoro
Lawang (Rp350,000).

4

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
his unique landscape now comprises the
Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park,
whose highlights are the dramatic
smoking crater of Gunung Bromo ,
Gunung Penanjakan - on the outside
crater's edge and one of the favourite
sunrise spots - and Cemoro Lawang , with
its brilliant panoramic view of the crater,
at its best during the dry season. he park
also contains the highest mountain in
Java, Gunung Semeru , which can be
climbed by experienced trekkers.
he most popular approach to the
Bromo region is to head inland from
Probolinggo , on the north coast, to the
crater's edge at Cemoro Lawang, where
most people stay in order to make the
dawn trip to Gunung Bromo as easy as
possible. A much less common approach
involves heading inland from Pasuruan,
60km southeast of Surabaya, in order to
reach the villages of Tosari and Wonokitri,
also linked by road to Gunung Penanjakan.

Gunung Semeru
Essentially a dry-season expedition
(June-Sept or possibly Oct), the climb
up Gunung Semeru (3676m), Java's
highest mountain, is a three-day hike for
fit, experienced trekkers only and requires
good preparation and equipment. he
volcano has been in a continuous state of
eruption since 1967, and over twenty
thousand seismic events are typically
recorded each year; it's a good idea to
take a guide (ask at the PHPA o ce or
your hotel) and heed local advice. he
path starts at the village of Ranu Pane
(2117m) to the north of the mountain,
accessible from Cemoro Lawang by ojek
(Rp50,000) or via a four-hour path across
the Sea of Sand to Jemplang, from where
it's another 6km to the village. Ranu Pane
has several basic homestays (Rp80,000)
and the PHPA o ce ( T 0335 541038)
where you must register before your hike.
Here you may also find porters (from
Rp120,000 per day) and rent a cooking

Gunung Bromo
he climb to the top of Gunung Bromo
(2392m) is the most popular excursion
from Cemoro Lawang; if you're lucky
with the clouds, there may be an