Ijen's Superman!

I thought Rinjani's porters are the strongest men in the world, and then I saw sulfur miners at Ijen.

When you're at Ijen, you'll see these men passing you. They collect solidified sulfur and carry a very huge loads over 70 kilograms on their shoulders with bamboo baskets.

They do this work up to 3 times a day - by trekking 3km up to the crater then walking down the steep path to the collection point. They use only their bare hands and basic tools. Don't think about safety face mask, they wear only a piece of cloth or old tees to cover their nose. 

This high risk job which risk their health and life earns them Rp 70,000/day (around $7) which I could spend easily in a day :(

If you pass them, do not hesitate to buy molded sulfur. It means a lot :)

Photos are taken using Pentax Espio Mini + Fuji Xtra 400

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Trekking | Ijen Crater

It was 1am, we prepared to start trekking Ijen Crater from our campsite. Ijen volcano, located in Banyuwangi, has a large acidic volcanic crater lake called Ijen Crater (Kawah Ijen in Bahasa Indonesia). Beside sulfur mining, Ijen is famous for its "Blue Fire". It is said that there are only two craters in the world that have blue flames, in Iceland and Indonesia, whoa! 

blue flames

We had to trek 3km (2-3 hours) to reach the rim of the crater. We reached it just in time to see the blue flames, about 1 hour before sunrise. So, this 'Blue Fire' is caused by the ignition of leaking sulfur fumes from sections of ceramic pipes laid to a volcanic vent.

I saw the beautiful looking blue fire with the surreal turquoise color crater lake and milky way sky. Even though it was still dark, I could tell that Ijen was so pretty! 

the crater lake

reaching the peak again on sunrise

sulfur miner's basket 

How to get there:

Check my previous post here

Tips if you plan to visit Ijen:

• Start trekking at 2am at the latest, So it gives you time to hike up without rushing, see the blue fire and chase the sunrise from the top of Ijen.
• Bring headlamp, wear warm jackets, trainers, and outdoor shoes or running shoes if you don't have any.
• Bring mask if to protect you from sulfuric gas. I used it as well on the way up since there was a fire two weeks ago in the area. The path were still covered with ashes.

Photos are taken using Pentax Espio Mini + Fuji XTRA 400

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