Kawah Crater

Kawah (crater) Ijen can be reached from either the east or the west. The latter is the more popular approach, since the climb from the road's end to the edge of the lake is only one and a half hours. The road from Banyuwangi, on the other hand, involves a six to seven hour trek from the village of Licin. The western route starts from Wonosari, a few kilometres outside Bondowoso, the town famous for its bull fights. A narrow road, full of potholes, runs east and up from Wonosari, rapidly deteriorating into bone shaking loose rock and gravel. Seemingly endless hairpin bends ascend into forests of casuarina (cemara) trees, giving way to pine forests and coffee plantations. The temperature drops. At night, near the crater rim, it can fall to about 5 degrees celsius.
The road ends at Jampit, where very basic shelter is available. It is also possible to sleep in the old vulcanology station further up the hill, now used by sulphur collectors, but permission must be obtained in advance.