Mount Bromo is one of the most famous tourist spots in Indonesia. It’s located a few hours drive from the cities of Surabaya and Malang. Most people purchase a packaged tour that includes transportation all the way to the entrance of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park and then a jeep ride beyond that to the spots around Mount Bromo.

I had my own car, so I didn’t purchase a packaged tour. Instead, I decided to tackle it myself. I left my hotel in Surabaya at 10:30 PM. The plan was to drive overnight to Bromo to catch the sunrise there. At exactly midnight, I passed through the town of Pasuruan. At 12:36 AM, on the highway between Pasuruan and Probolinggo, I turned towards Bromo at a place called Tongas. It was pitch black and the narrow, curvy road was winding uphill. I passed by some small hotels where I’m sure tourists were sleeping (on their way to the same sunrise that I was after). Guys with jeeps were standing by the road every few kilometers and they would stop every passing car and ask, “hardtop?” - obviously trying to overcharge unsuspecting tourists. At exactly 2:10 AM, I arrived at the gate to the national park and paid the entrance fee. The men at the entrance gate said that private cars are not allowed into the park. I argued with them and even tried to bribe them, but they wouldn’t listen.

They said that I must rent a jeep, a horse, or a motorbike if I wish to enter the park. The jeep would cost Rp. 450k. The motorbike would cost Rp. 100k. The horse was Rp. 200k. Also, the jeep and motorbike doesn’t include the cost of the horse ride (Rp. 100k) up Mount Bromo. The jeep was too expensive (Rp. 450k + 100k for the horse), the motorbike would’ve been a good idea except that I was sure I’d freeze to death on the way there. They said I can decide to walk if I wanted to. It would take an hour and I may get lost in the desert - that is, if I didn’t die from exhaustion or cold. So, in the end, I decided to take a horse that would take me all the way to the steps of Mount Bromo. By now, it was 3 AM. They told me that it would take half an hour to get a horse there, and that the horse takes an hour to reach the Bromo steps. So, from 3 AM + half hour + 1 hour = 5:30 AM. That’s when sunrise is! Luckily, the horse arrived about 20 minutes later and the journey across the sandy desert to the Bromo steps took less than an hour.

The 250 steps leading up to Mount Bromo were slippery (due to the loose sand deposited on them). It was FREEZING cold - even more so, thanks to the constant cold/dry breeze. I underestimated the weather at Bromo! It was -5*C, but due to the constant wind and being exposed to the cold for so long, it felt much colder. I wore a t-shirt, a hoodie, and a light jacket on top. If you’re going to Bromo for the sunrise, I highly encourage you to wear a winter jacket and bring a hat that covers your ears - along with a pair of gloves. A thick scarf wouldn’t hurt either. After sunrise though, it gets progressively warmer.

Is the sunrise worth it? Yes, and it isn’t just the sunrise you should see. One of the features of Bromo is that you can see thousands of stars very clearly from the desert that surrounds Mount Bromo. So, when I was riding my horse through the dark and empty desert, I looked up and my jaw dropped. There were thousands of stars. I could even see Venus which appeared as a very large star near the horizon. There were many shooting stars (you can see one every minute or so). This part of the journey was just as memorable as the sunrise itself. If you like stars, I recommend you check the moon phase to make sure it’s a new moon (i.e. no moon visible). If the moon is visible, you will see fewer stars.

Normally, the jeeps go to another place called Mount Penanjakan for the sunrise. Immediately after the sunrise, people get back in the jeeps and drive to the base of Mount Bromo from where they can either walk or take a horse about 300 meters uphill to the base of the 250 steps that lead up to Mount Bromo. I decided to avoid Mount Penanjakan altogether and go to Mount Bromo itself for the sunrise. I’ve heard that Mount Penanjakan gets very crowded at sunrise (over 100 jeeps) with everybody elbowing each other to try to get a view. I was lucky: when I arrived at the top of Mount Bromo, I was one of the first ones. After the sunrise, when I left, there were maybe 20 people at the top of Mount Bromo. So, I left Mount Bromo before the 100 jeeps arrived with (theoretically) 600 tourists. I rode my horse back to the parking lot. The return journey only took 30 minutes because I rode the horse myself (without the guide leading the horse with a rope).

I warmed up with some hot coffee (sold at the gate of the park) and chatted a bit with the guides. By this time, there were a lot more people showing up. As I drove away from the parking lot, it was 7 AM. I reached Pasuruan at 8:30 AM. Instead of continuing back towards Surabaya (it was still too early in the day), I decided to take a detour towards Taman Safari 2 Prigen. It’s on the slopes of Mount Arjuna, not too far from the town of Lawang. I arrived there at 10 AM.

Taman Safari is a, as the name suggests, a safari and also a full fledged zoo. You can drive around through different enclosures that feel a lot like Jurassic Park (with automatic doors that let your car through). The zoo had a dolphin show that I enjoyed. Overall, I was very surprised at how good this hidden gem was! Taman Safari is highly underrated. You should definitely visit Taman Safari if you’re in the area for Bromo or Surabaya.

I left Taman Safari at around 2 PM and arrived back in Surabaya about an hour later (reaching my hotel in the city center at 3:30 PM).

See Also:

- WikiTravel.com article on Bromo