Exploring the Volcanoes of Indonesia
Gunung Tangkuban Parahu
Bandung, West Java
October 26, 2012
It was a rainy season in Indonesia when I explored Gunung Tangkuban Parahu.
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| Crater Rim |
Tangkuhan Oarahu has three craters - Kawah Ratu ("Queen Crater"), Kawah Domas ("Domas Crater"), and Kawah Upas ("Upas Crater"). Ratu crater is the bigger crater and possibly, the main crater of the volcano.
I was fascinated by the boiling mud inside the crater and the white smoke coming out from the vents. The local government installed a wooden fence for safety.
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| Ratu Crater |
From the Ratu crater, we descended a few meters and reached the entrance gate leading to the Domas crater. To see the Domas crater, we did a short trek along a well maintained trail. A local guide was assisting us.
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| Domas Crater |
The Domas crater consists of several smaller craters. I enjoyed boiling Chicken eggs on the boiling water coming out of the volcano.
Dieng Plateau, Sikidang Crater
Dieng Kulon, Batur, Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia
March 27, 2013
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| Sikidang Boiling Mud Pond |
It was summer time in Indonesia when I visited Central Java to see World Heritage Sites - Borobudur and Prambanan Temples. I happened to see the active Sikidang Crater during this trip and explored the area.
The Sikidang Crater is a boiling mud pond with billowing white sulfur smoke. to have a better view of crater, I had to climb a hill beside the boil pond of mud.
Gunung Rinjani
West Nusa Tenggara, Lombok
June 29, 2013
I traveled to the island of Lombok to see the second highest active volcano in Indonesia, Gunung Rinjani. It was a hot month of June.
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| Summit |
Gunung Rinjani has an elevation of 3,726 MASL. To reach the summit, I had to camp near the crater rim and climbed up the highest point of the crater rim the following day.
We started the summit assault at around 0300H. This is the most challenging part of the trek. The first part of the trail is a steep climb on loose rocks. At around 0400H, we reached the upper crater rim leading to the summit.
Massive Crater of Mt. Rinjani overlooking "Segara Anak" and "Gunung Baru"
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| Rinjani Caldera |
We reached the summit at 0700H. The view of the caldera from the summit is so majestic. Indonesians call it Segara Anak (Child of the Sea) because of the blue-green color of the lake and the new volcano that formed inside the caldera reminded me of Mt. Mayon and Taal Volcano. Indonesians call it "Gunung Baru" (New Mountain).
Gunung Ijen
Banyuwangi Regency of East Java, Indonesia
April 15, 2014
I was at the Eastern Java in Indonesia to explore Gunung Ijen.
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| Inside the Crater |
This volcano is famous for its sulfur mines and the blue flames coming out of the volcano vents.
From my accommodation, we drove to the jump-off point for an hour on a 4x4 vehicle and we arrived at the jump-off point at 0200H.
Together with few hikers, we started trekking Gunung Ijen at 0230H. The trail is nice. One of the highlights of this trek was the sulfur miners carrying atleast 4 heavy blocks of natural sulfur from inside the crater of the volcano.
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| Sulfur Mines |
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| Blue Flames |
According to Alyn, the flames are actually very hot sulfur gas coming out of the volcano active vents.
Gunung Bromo
East Java, Indonesia
April 16, 2014
Gunung Bromo has a look-a-like in the Philippines. It's Taal Volcano less the water on the lake.
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| Viewing Deck |
Bromo could be one of the mostly visited volcanoes in Indonesia because of the scenic view of the crater complex.
We arrived at the viewing deck at 0500H and waited for the sunrise. A sea of cloud covered the caldera and slowly disappeared giving way to the sunrise.
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| Bromo Caldera |
It was so amazing. I was just like watching a nice stage play that started with the opening of the stage curtain.
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| Bromo Crater |
We started trekking the crater wall of Gunung Bromo at 0900H. The trail of volcanic dust reminded me of Gunung Rinjani.
Gunung Kelimutu
East Nusa Tenggara, Flores
October 02, 2016
This volcano has three craters, just like Gunung Tangkuban Parahu. But the unique thing about Kelimutu is the changing color of the crater lakes.
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| Western Crater |
Furthermore, the crater lakes of Kilimutu are almost adjacent to each other and therefore easier to explore.
The two crater lakes at the eastern side of the volcano were both in Green color at that time. Locals said, these crater lakes were usually in Blue and Red colors. While the remaining crater lake at the western side of the volcano is in dark Blue color. usually, it was Black according to Alyn.
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| Eastern Crater Lakes |
At 0945H, we proceeded to the crater rim of the two crater lakes and there I saw the full magnificence of the two craters closely. I enjoyed taking few shots in between the two eastern craters and created a panorama of both craters.
-o0o-
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