It's another spectacular Bromo sunrise

To a chorus of impatient shouts from tourists from home and abroad, the sky over Mt. Bromo broke open, the horizon colored with streaks of pink and gold.

Yet no matter how those 100 or so tourists shouted and shivered, the sun refused to hasten its pace. Tourists crowding the lookout platform at Mt. Penanjakan (2,770 m) had to be content with the brilliant morning glory that rendered the swirling mist around 2,392-meter-high Bromo a purple glow.

Sticking to its set schedule, at exactly 4:45 a.m., the sun appeared on the horizon over the Tengger-Bromo mountain range, painting the sky a radiant red.

Cameras clicked furiously amid cries of admiration over the beautiful sunrise - well worth waiting for by the tourists who had been gathering since 3 a.m.

During the dry season, from April through September, tourists hope for a cloudless sky to watch the upcoming sun spread colors over the horizon, like a great painter on the canvas. Cameras capture each stage of the rising sun, and after it has positioned itself well above the horizon, tourists aim their viewfinder toward the southwest. From the lookout, Mt. Bromo lies at an angle of 45 degrees, flanked by Mt. Batok (2,240 m) and Mt. Kursi (2,581 m), with Mt. Semeru (3,676 m) in the background.

With the morning sun well above the horizon, and under a clear blue sky, tourists shed their jackets, ponchos, mittens and woolen caps to pose for a memorable picture set against the scenic beauty of the smoke belching out of Semeru and the mist swirling around Bromo. The postcard-perfect picture taken from the outlook platform 400 meters above Mt. Bromo captures the spectacular panorama that is characteristic of the Tengger mountain range. After watching the sunrise, most tourists return to their hotels and inns in Cemoro Lawang, in the direction of Probolinggo. The 45-minute trip through the sea of sand at the Mt. Tengger caldera, from where Mt. Bromo emerges, offers more spectacular, if somewhat eerie, scenery. This impressive journey is all part and parcel of the visit to Bromo. A visit to an ancient Hindu temple lying in the sea of sand makes a good end to the enchanting dawn visit to Bromo.

Most travel guides advise approaching Mt. Penanjakan via Probolinggo and Cemoro Lawang. But the route via Pasuruan is worth a try: It is a much shorter and easier route, with equally stunning scenery. Public buses departing from the Pasuruan bus terminal can take tourists to Pasrepan, from where many motorcycle taxis make themselves available for the journey to Wonokitri, the last post before the ascent to Mt. Penanjakan. After leaving Pasrepan, the scenery becomes more rustic, with vast stretches of agricultural land interspersed with hamlets and fewer people on the road.

On entering the Tengger-Bromo National Park, the scenery becomes more breathtaking. Deep ravines and towering cliffs jabbing upright to dizzying heights dominate the landscape. Eons ago, the Tengger mountain blew its cone, and remnants of its crater wall now stand as tall guardians watching over its caldera.

In the shadow of these ancient crater walls, farmers till the land. The fertile land in the deep gorges yields a great variety of vegetables - potatoes, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, leeks. Wafts of thick mists partly cover the deeply incised valleys. But the farmers are accustomed to this foggy weather and, during the dry season, work in the field until early evening. The Tenggerese, being staunch farmers, are ever pushing further the limits of their agricultural land, ignoring the dangers of landslip. Their daring attempt to turn the rugged hills into productive land is part of this breathtaking panorama.

The trip up through the mountain area - amid chilly weather - is no stroll in the park, but the impressive panorama makes it worth the effort. The road winds up and narrows when entering Wonokitri by early evening. By this hour of the day, the parking area for mountain vehicles lies abandoned, but a nearby food stall is always ready with a warm meal to welcome the weary visitor.

A bowl of piping hot chicken soup is an energizer after the long trip. Despite the clear weather, the sun's occasional appearances from behind a curtain of thick mist do nothing to drive away the chilly mountain air. Up here in this isolated mountain resort, urban civilization seems to be a world away. The locals belonging to the Tengger clan are friendly and very hospitable. Quite a number of them have turned their homes into inns to provide tourists with lodgings before starting on the pre-dawn trek up Mt. Penanjakan.

After eating, it was time to experience a bath - with freezing cold water. This cold shower is a reminder that visitors will have to brace themselves against frigid temperatures for at least nine more hours, until after the sun rises over Mt. Bromo.

My diligent tour guide knocked at the door of the inn around 1 a.m., asking to be let into the inn's lobby. Although wrapped in jacket, gloves and woolen cap, he was shivering from the cold and immediately huddled in the sofa. Before 3 a.m., we left on our adventure to the top of Mt. Penanjakan. After leaving Wonokitri, we were joined by other mountain trekkers, a line winding up the road in the dead of the night. Despite - or perhaps because of - the eerie atmosphere, with nothing but a deep void on one side of use and a steep cliff on the other, that 10-kilometer hike over nothing but barren land is a memorable one.

Soon after arriving at the parking area for the lookout, the eerie atmosphere turned lively. Bright fluorescent light flooded out of shops selling souvenirs and other touristy paraphernalia. Tourists gathering there, before starting the walk to the lookout, were engaged in lively greetings and conversation. It was a group of polyglots coming together from all corners of the world to witness this sunrise.

The vendors were no less enthusiastic at this meeting point, offering warm clothes or camera batteries for those who might have come without. Some stall owners generously provided tourists with a charcoal fire by which they could warm their hands.

By 4 a.m., the platform was already crowded with everyone expecting the kind of clear sky that guarantees a brilliant sunrise. Among the crowd was a TV crew from France, sending back to Europe images of this spectacular Indonesian sunrise.

Although a sunrise is just a daily natural occurrence, intensive marketing has turned Bromo's version of this occurrence into a tourist magnet. Tourists from Europe make the effort to include the mountain on their itinerary before proceeding to Bali. As do tourists from Japan, who are proud to be able to show a picture of themselves with the smoke belching Mt. Semeru in the background, just like it does in the ads.

On the day I visited, a tourist from Moscow, accompanied by his Indonesian friend, said he would not miss a stopover by Bromo, before he headed to Bali. An Indonesian visitor said this was his fourth visit to watch the sunrise over Bromo and would not rule out a fifth.

The international attention lavished on this spot has turned Bromo into a global village, with people from different corners of the world mingling and interacting, if only for a few hours.

After that, they move on, back to their hotels and their next destination.