The national park is named after its two mountains, Mount Semeru (the highest in Java at 3,676 metres), Mount Bromo (the most popular) and the Tengger people who inhabit the area.
Mount Semeru also known as Mahameru (“Great Mountain”), is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes. What stands out most about this mountain is the fact that it erupts periodically (and very reliably so). Every 20 minutes or so, the volcano belches out a huge cloud of steam and smoke, sometimes interspersed with ash and stones. Climbing Mount Semeru requires some planning and a permit from the national park authority. The mountain is often closed due to its highly active nature.
Mount Bromo (2,329 metres) is easily recognized as the entire top has been blown off and the crater inside constantly belches white sulphurous smoke. It sits inside the massive Tengger caldera (diameter approximately 10 km), surrounded by the Laut Pasir (Sea of Sand) of fine volcanic sand. The overall effect is unsettlingly unearthly, especially when compared to the lush green valleys all around the caldera.
The area around the mountain is inhabited by the Tenggerese, one of the few significant Hindu communities left on the island of Java. The local religion is a remnant from the Majapahit era and therefore quite similar to that on Bali. It is though quite low key with the only visible manifestations of faith being a few rather basic temples. Still, for many visitors, the sight of angular-faced, sunburned, moustachioed Tenggerese wrapped in poncho-like blankets, trotting about on ponies with craggy mountains as the backdrop more resembles Peru than Indonesia!
The major access point is Cemoro Lawang at the northeast edge, but there are also trails from Tosari (northwest) and Ngadas (west). The village of Ngadisari, on the road from Probolinggo about 5.5 km before Cemoro Lawang, marks the entrance to the national park. Both Cemoro Lawang and Ngadisari are rather picturesque, with brightly-painted houses and flower beds outside.
The nearest airport to get there is Juanda Airport of Surabaya. Frequent services are available from other large cities in the country including Jakarta and Bali as well as a few regional hubs.
The nearest larger town is Probolinggo, on the north coast of Java. It is about one hour from Probolinggo to Ngadisari and another half hour all the way to Cemoro Lawang, and it is possible to visit on a day trip, although most visitors prefer to climb overnight and see the sunrise. Public transport to Probolinggo is easy. There is a shuttle service from the Juanda International Airport in Surabaya to the main bus station where you can take an air-conditioned bus for a 2-3 hours ride to Probolinggo.
If you are interested in spending sometime in the hillside town of Malang instead of Probolinggi, microbus from Malang to Tumpang, and then a 4WD vehicle from Tumpang to Ranupane. But the latter of the above-mentioned routes is the more interesting because it leads across the 9-km-wide Sand Sea caldera and passes Bromo, a post-caldera cinder cone. A dirt road leads across the flat bottom of the caldera, up to Jemplang on its southern rim, and on to Ranupane. You have to take a 4WD vehicle.
From the village, Cemero Lawang, you can easily hike up Mount Bromo and Mount Penanjakan and the best time to do this is pre-dawn. Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park is a superb location for viewing the sunrise. Villagers offer horseback rides to the top of Mount Bromo and you can also book a jeep to take you around the area.
By far the most common activity in the park is visiting the collapsed but still smouldering Mount Bromo, located in the huge, unearthly moonscape of a caldera known as the Sand Sea.
When timing any activities in the area, bear in mind that sunset is soon after 5 PM and sunrise is correspondingly early at around 5:30 AM. This means you will usually need to get up by 3:30 AM or so to get there in time for dawn.
Mount Bromo, edges tinged with white sulphur and always bubbling, is the main sight. To reach it on foot, pick the left fork at Cemoro Lawang’s solitary crossing, then head down the ramp into the caldera and then across the caldera to the Hindu temple at the foot of the mountain. From the temple a steep path of 250 steps leads to the edge of the crater and a precarious meter-wide ledge from where to gaze into the volcano. The walk from the tourist center to the top of the mountain should take no longer than 1.5 hours by foot, and is about 3km.
Mount Semeru
Mount Batok (2,440m) is a brown volcano at the north center of the caldera. Unlike the other nearby peaks it is no longer active and actually has some vegetation growing on it, mostly the local cemara tree that somehow manages to survive even on volcanic ash.
Mount Penanjakan (2,770m), located just north of the caldera, is a mountaintop viewpoint accessible by paved road from Tosari and hence popular with jeeps and even tour buses. Most of the crowd comes to see the dawn at 5 AM, and you’ll likely have the large concrete observation post to yourself if you arrive later in the day.
Viewpoint , along the trail from Cemoro Lawang to Mt. Penanjakan, is an excellent way to get a stunning view of the caldera without the crowds. To reach it, head west from Cemoro Lawang (past Cemero Indah) for 6 km, past farms and fields. The paved road eventually turns into a twisty mountain trail that ends with a flight of stairs on the right, and the viewpoint (with concrete shelter) is at the top. Allow 1.5 hours for the climb up at a steady pace, and bring along a torch if attempting this at night. From here, you can continue onto Mt. Penanjakan by following the trail upward, after which the trail merges onto the paved road to the viewpoint (total time about 60 minutes one way). If planning to return the same way, mark the spot where the trail emerges onto the road (if you pass a stone lantern on the way down, you’ve gone too far!), and note that descending on this section can get slippery due to loose sand and rocks.