Dangerous Beauty

Mount Ijen in East Java is a mysterious, spectacularly beautiful place to visit. Christina Schott embarks on the strenuous climb up the mountain.

An hour after sunrise, the sulfur porters of Gunung Ijen in East Java are already on their second trip down the mountain. They step carefully in a rhythmic pace accompanied by the creaking of the twin bamboo baskets swaying on their shoulders. Despite the 70 kilograms of yellow sulfur lumps weighing them down, most can spare a smile for the tourists just starting their climb.

It is only three kilometers from the national park base camp to the caldera of Java’s easternmost volcano. The clayey path through the shrub and pine forest is clean and straight – maybe a little too straight: The steepness of the trail is literally breathtaking. Gasping their way to the wooden canteen at two kilometers, many visitors are overtaken by the sandal-wearing porters on their third climb that day.

But it’s worth the pain. On the last kilometer, on a trail around the caldera, hikers are rewarded with a beautiful panorama of the surrounding mountains. The reward is greater at the edge at 2883 meters: Steep slopes fall away to the turquoise volcanic lake sparkling like a magic tarn in the middle of the crater.

This beauty comes with danger: When this fire mountain becomes active, the extremely acid water boils, producing deadly bubbles of sulfur and carbon dioxide – the 1990s had five such gas eruptions.

Here, amid this burn and bubble, unfolds the world of the sulfur miners. Down by the acid lake, they wait as the sulfur gas steaming out from pipes congeals in the air. The most bizarre pieces are put in the baskets to be sold as tourist souvenirs. Only those who can lug their load up the slopes three times a day while breathing the foul vapor will get a job at the mine. For about Rp 40,000 a day, the workers irreversibly ruin their lungs, skin and teeth, but are usually the higher-earning members of their family.

Gunung Ijen is Javanese for “Lonely Mountain”. The Hindu kings of the Majapahit era climbed the volcano to meditate and strengthen their inner power. At that time, the Ijen Massive was probably still a twin volcano more than 4000 meters high. Presumably the mountain blew itself up at the end of 16^th century, leaving a caldera 16 kilometers wide, one of the biggest in the world. Locals believe this disaster might have been behind the downfall of the great Majapahit empire.

Today the vast highland is famous for its coffee plantations. By the time the departing morning mist opens on the mountain scenery, the coffee pickers in colorful sarongs and white gloves are already busily plucking the ripest berries.

“We are very proud of our coffee,” says plantation administrator Syuhadak. “This is one of the few places in the world where we were able to preserve the old Arabica Typica trees.”

In 1894, Dutchman Davit Bernie settled on the fertile Ijen plateau, where he found the ideal conditions for his coffee plants. Javanese coffee was so famous by then that traders from other regions in the world applied the name “Java” to their beans to boost sales. But when coffee rust near the turn of the century destroyed nearly all Indonesia’s coffee production, planters were forced to turn to the less practical and less productive Robusta trees. Although the plantations on Ijen survived, probably thanks to their remoteness, they were neglected until the 1950s, when the by-then independent Indonesian government reactivated them.

Today, the coffee plantations of Blawan, Jampit and Kalisat once more produce beans of the highest export quality. From May to September, state-owned company PT Perkebunan Nusantara XII harvests up to 180 tons of the red coffee berries each day. They are peeled, washed and fermented on the same day, then left to dry in the sun for three weeks.

“This coffee is premium class. It’s light and not too acid, so you can drink it every day,” raves American coffee trader Michael Glenister, a regular visitor to the plateau. “Together with the romantic-exotic image and the unique chocolate aroma of the Java beans, it’s a perfect treat for customers all over the world.”

To fully savor the enchanted, colonial atmosphere, visitors can stay overnight at one of the old Dutch mansions at the plantations. The welcome meal: hot potatoes with honey.

From Ijen plateau, a small road leads to Banyuwangi, the nearest city. Tourists rumble over the spreading potholes in rented jeeps, enjoying the safari-like adventure. Some 20 years ago, villagers say, tigers still roamed the area. The drive leads through dense forest and then plantations again – planters here also grow cocoa, cloves and rubber. Halfway down, a small trail turns off the main road, winding through lush rice terraces, which can easily compete with the most picturesque fields on nearby Bali. The only other users of the muddy track are farmers and their buffalo.

Finally, when it really does feel like being in the middle of nowhere, the path offers another surprise, leading to the door of a luxury hotel. When Ijen Resort opened in this remote area around five years ago, many thought its owners crazy. They were soon proved wrong: The villas are often fully booked with mainly European guests keen on climbing Mount Ijen or honeymooners seeking seclusion.

From the top of the stairs, the view of the surrounding mountains throws the visitor into a loop. A dark rock pool with natural spring water seems to flow directly into the rice terraces around the manicured garden.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” declares a Swiss tourist, sipping his welcome drink.

While honeymooners and tired mountaineers relax beside the pool of the open-air restaurant, local children herd cows or geese toward their villages and farmers work in their rice fields. The villagers don’t seem bothered by this contrast.

“Since the resort opened and foreigners started coming here, we got a lot of new job opportunities,” says Rahmat, who was born and grew up in the neighboring village.

Today, with fluent English, he’s working as a guard and tour guide for the hotel.

“Otherwise, I would probably have ended up working at the sulfur mine. Now I can guide other people to see the beauty of Ijen without having to inhale its dangerous breath.”

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