It has been quite some time since we’ve been on a real adventure and we were itching to do something most would call ᴅᴀɴԍᴇʀous and cʀᴀzʏ! Luckily for us, we happen to be in a country with the most active volcanoes in the world, Indonesia! So naturally, our next adventure had to be trekking an active volcano.

Our active volcano of choice? Kawah Ijen Volcano (Mount Ijen)!

Let The Adventure Begin!

After our 6-hour journey from Ubud, Bali to Java, we arrived to the base camp at 1am the following morning. When we stepped outside the car we were sʟᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ by the unwelcoming freezing cold temperature. With the temperature being about 10° C and said to be even colder at the top, I wasn’t sure I could do this hike. My tolerance to the cold is seriously close to nonexistent. Nonetheless, I grabbed extra clothes and gear from our guide and began my 3 km hike to the top of Kawah Ijen.

As we climbed through the night, the full moon and the star-filled sky lit the way. Our guide, Harry, turned to us and said, “in July you can see the Milky Way, it’s beautiful”. As fascinating as that would have been to see, we were content with the current beauty of the sky. It made the hike up to the top much less strenuous and that much more magical.

After an hour and a half of trekking in the night, we finally made it to the top. It was time to put on our ԍᴀs мᴀsκs and await the natural phenomenon known as blue fire. Due to mother nature’s unpredictability and the high levels of methane gas being released from the lake, we weren’t allowed to get up close and personal with the blue flames or the turquoise-green acidic lake. We had to admire them from afar, which was okay with us as we’d rather be alive than see the lake and ᴅιᴇ from the silent κιʟʟer known as methane.

To be honest, we weren’t wowed by the blue flames (maybe because we weren’t up close). Yes it was cool to see, but it was the beauty of Mount Ijen and its surroundings that took our breath away. As the morning sun began to rise and the night sky drifted away, Mount Ijen’s true beauty began to reveal itself. This was truly a majestic and unforgettable moment for us! Watching the moon set and the sun rise simultaneously felt surreal. The volcanoes surrounding Ijen and the fluffy clouds made the perfect backdrop. This is truly something you have to experience to believe.

< Source : https://www.roadaffair.com/hiking-kawah-ijen-volcano/ >