A sunrise hike to the crater of Mt. Ijen, Indonesia

A string of smouldering volcanoes runs through Java, from legendary Krakatoa off the west coast to ethereal Ijen, on the eastern tip of the island looking across to Bali. Any itinerary through Java and Bali must call in at Kawah Ijen, where a sunrise hike takes you up from the fertile paddy fields at the volcano’s base to a summit looking straight down into its ice blue crater lake, at which point you might feel like you’ve landed on a different planet. Trekking along the path with you are Ijen’s superhuman sulphur miners, who dig down into the crater for the ‘devils gold’, ferrying loads of up to 90kg between the crater and trail head.

When to go March - October

Where to go East Java, Indonesia