My third destination of #WonderfulIndonesia is Banyuwangi. We took a boat ride from Lombok to Bali, made 2 flights transfer and finally arrived at Ketapang Indah. Here are the two main places where I have covered.

#1 Ijen Crater (Kawah Ijen)

Igen plateau or known as “Kawah Ijen” is highly recommended to mountain buffs and hikers. It contains the world’s largest acidic volcanic crater lake which is famous for its turquosise colour. The volcano is beauiful but hiking in with the stars, getting up close to the blue flames and viewing the truly stunning sunsirse were what made this hike so memorable. We left the hotel at 1AM and it was about an hour drive to the entrance. We took about 2 hours to reach the top. I have to say the journey is not easy as it is advised to wear a filter mask as the suplur smell is quite strong along the way. Bring a headlight with you as you will be hiking in the dark and wear proper sport shoes as it can be steep and slippery. It is also recommended to wear a jacket because it was cold (about 52F) in the midnight but you will be warm while hiking and after the sun comes up. So I suggest a T-shirt and hoodie/wind breaker will be good enough. 
To be honest, I didn't manage to see the blue flames as I was really exhausted after the 2-hour hike. I didn't manage to walk down to see the blue fire. However, you may refer to the image below to judge whether it is worth the sweats. But the crater and sunrise is truly beautiful. 
 
The filtered mask, which BoBo brought for us. Good to have friend who works in safety equipment industry. 

 
(Picture source from ijenexpedition)




 
(Picture source from marcocavallini)


We climbed at Kawah Ijen during the night and stayed only a few hours in bed. It was really a nice hotel, which I would enjoy to stay a couple of days. Unfortunate we had to leave to our next destination, Bandung.  





Stay tune for Bandung write-up x