The Highlight of East Java Trip: Blitar – Bromo – Kalibaru 4 days/3 Nights
Day 1: Full Day in Blitar
Today sees a full day drive through the countryside to Blitar, a small town where the founder of Indonesia, President Sukarno was born and laid to rest. On arrival we hope to visit Panataran temple, and the place where Sukarno and his family have been laid to rest.
Day 2: Drive to Mt Bromo via Probolinggo
Today we head to the spectacular grandeur of Mt Bromo via the town of Probolinggo, famed throughout the country for its succulent mangoes. Its name is derived from a title bestowed upon it by King Hayam Wuruk in 1359 – Prabu Linggah – which translates as The Place the King was Pleased to Stay. We however will be continuing, to the magnificent scenic splendour of Gunung Bromo (2392m), Java’s still-smoking and very ancient volcano. Considered the jewel in the crown of East Java, and one of the most spectacular volcanoes in Indonesia. It is actually one of four craters, which have arisen out of the ancient and vast expanse of the Tengger crater. Legend tells that the Tengger people are descendants of an ancient union between the daughter of the last king of Majapahit and an heir of the god Brahamana, making them culturally and ethnically different from the other Java peoples, and each year the Kasada Festival sees them presenting prayers and offerings to the gods from the top of the crater’s rim, casting flowers, vegetables and money into the mouth of the caldera. This entire region now encompasses the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru N.P a remarkable setting of rainforest, grasslands and casuarinas forests, sheltering a range of flora and fauna that includes some 157 species of orchid, as well as panthers, monkeys, leopards and deer.
Late this afternoon we will take a walk across the sand sea of the crater and ascend Mt Bromo for a spectacular sunset.
Day 3. Optional excursion by Jeep and on foot to Mt Penanjakan for sunrise
For those interested there is the opportunity this morning to make a very early start and take an optional jeep excursion across to the foot of Mt Pananjakan and then walk up to the summit, the highest point on the outer crater at some 2770m. Here we can witness the sunrise across the glorious vistas of Mt Bromo and the surrounding volcanoes. Volcanoes have mystified man since the earliest of times, and with this breathtaking scene laid out before us this morning it is easy to understand why. The rest of the day has then been left free to relax and enjoying this spectacular landscape, or perhaps venture a little farther afield and do some exploring on your own.
Day 4: Drive to Kalibaru
Leaving the national park after breakfast this morning we travel east, towards Kalibaru, a pleasant village nestling amongst the foothills of Gunung Raung. To the north of us lies the Ijen Plateau, to the south the Meru Betiri National Park and all around a landscape dotted with plantations of coffee, cocoa, vanilla, spices and rubber. During the 18th century much of Java lay under the auspices of the colonial power of Holland, a factor still much in evidence amongst the trappings and architecture of its estates. On arrival there will be free time to relax or perhaps take a walk around the area. You may like to visit a nearby plantation in the company of a local guide, to see for yourselves how the estates still continue the work of the original Dutch settlers and learn something of the cultivation and production of the crops. Coffee and cocoa is generally most prolific during the spring and summer months, whereas rubber is a year round crop, reaching its peak during the rains that send the trees into an overdrive of latex production.
For more info: eastjava@indonesia-tourism.com
