{"id":8289,"date":"2022-10-02T08:23:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-02T08:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graduatedtravelers.com\/?p=8289"},"modified":"2026-08-19T12:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:17:51","slug":"ijen-vulkaan-zelf-beklimmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graduatedtravelers.com\/en\/ijen-vulkaan-zelf-beklimmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Climbing Mount Ijen: with or without a tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kawah Ijen, one of Indonesia<\/span><\/mark><\/a>many volcanoes, is impressive in its own way. It's home to one of the largest acidic crater lakes in all of Asia<\/span><\/mark><\/a>. The volcano is located in East-Java<\/span><\/mark><\/a> , near the coastal town of Banyuwangi. The enormous crater lake makes for a stunning sight from the crater rim, but the most bizarre part is that you can actually go inside the crater. Dozens of tours<\/span><\/mark><\/a> head to Mount Ijen and into the crater every day to admire the famous blue flames. You don't have to visit Mount Ijen with a fully organized tour: you can easily drive there yourself and arrange a guide on location. Here's everything you need to know before visiting Mount Ijen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Please note: since 2024, the rules around Mount Ijen have been tightened.<\/strong> We visited the volcano ourselves in 2022. A guide was officially required back then too, but in practice this wasn't strictly enforced, and many visitors went into the crater without one. After a number of incidents in 2024, East Java's nature conservation authority tightened the rules, and a guide is now genuinely mandatory for foreign tourists. In this blog we explain exactly what this means for your visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kawah Ijen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned, you can actually go into the crater of Mount Ijen. This is something unusual that normally wouldn't be possible or allowed. But at this volcano, things work a bit differently. That's because it's a working sulfur mine. This dangerous work is carried out daily by locals, who earn around \u20ac13 a day. To do it, they carry sulfur rocks up from the crater in two bamboo baskets. The rocks can weigh 75 to 90 kilos combined. Wearing gas masks, they brave the enormous fumes coming from the crater every day. The sulfur rocks are then delivered to a nearby factory at the base of the volcano, where the workers get paid. Some workers even do this trip twice a day. Despite being one of the most bizarre and dangerous workplaces in the world, you can actually visit it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"zwavel
Sulfur stones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sulfur miner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How do you get to Mount Ijen yourself?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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From Banyuwangi<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We first visited Mount Bromo<\/span><\/mark><\/a> from Probolinggo, then traveled on by train to Banyuwangi<\/span><\/mark><\/a> for Ijen. There's a direct train between the two locations, so you can easily combine these two volcanoes in one route through East Java. Many people visit Mount Bromo from Malang. From Malang too, you can take a direct train to Banyuwangi<\/span><\/mark><\/a> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Banyuwangi, it's about an hour's drive to Mount Ijen. You can easily do this on a scooter, which you can rent in Banyuwangi. We paid 85,000 IDR for our scooter. Just make sure you get one with enough power. The last stretch is quite steep, and we couldn't make it up with two people on one scooter. Luckily, a very kind miner offered to take Tessa on the back of his motorbike. Marlo just barely managed to make it up alone. As soon as you enter the national park from the village, it also gets very dark. There's no lighting at all. The roads are good, but we'd only recommend doing this yourself if you're comfortable on a scooter or motorbike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you also want a chance to see the blue flames, you'll need to get up early. It's important to be there as soon as the national park opens. Below is an overview of the best planning if you're departing from Banyuwangi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

00:00 departure from Banyuwangi <\/p>\n\n\n\n

01:15 present at the parking lot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

01:30 buy tickets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

01:50\/02:00 start hiking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

02:55 at the top of the crater rim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

03:30 down in the crater<\/p>\n\n\n\n

04:30 back at the top of the crater rim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

04:55 sunrise point<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New since 2024: tickets, health declaration and guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since January 2024, every visitor must show a medical certificate (Surat Keterangan Sehat) before they're allowed to buy a ticket. This proves you don't have heart or breathing problems: people with asthma, for example, are not allowed to go up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can arrange this certificate in two ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n