Java - Banyuwangi and Mt Ijen

We spent four eventful days based in Banyuwangi at the foot of Mt Ijen, that included chasing rats, being ill, climbing a volcano, seeing superhuman men carry the ‘devil’s gold’ out of the very mouth of the earth, and negotiating train travel.

Ketapang is hot. Ketapang is crazy busy. Rolling off the ferry and straight onto the highway felt like an onslaught. Bali’s quiet north coast suddenly felt very far away.

We’re in Java!

Of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands (crazy vast archipelagic country!) Java is the political and economic centre. Jakarta, the nation’s capital, sits on the northwest coast. The busy island bursts with people - 158 million - making it home to over half the country's population. I find this hard to comprehend. In the context of the UK, Java is nearly half our geographical size but with almost 2.4 times our population. And this is with a chain of volcanic mountains running east-west across the island squeezing people onto the remaining flatter land.

All this means we now need to find a route that navigates around Java’s volcanic peaks, through one of the world’s most densely populated places, and all against the ticking clock of our Indonesia visa deadline.

One of the first things I noticed cycling the seven miles along the highway from the port at Ketapang to Banyuwangi was the prevalence of headscarves worn by women, and the omission of dogs. Java is home to the largest Muslim population globally. I loved how the colourful head scarves float and flutter behind each woman as they speed elegantly by on their scooters.

The heat was intense - in the mid-30s, the air was filled with fumes and the roar of moped engines, the humidity I guessed was higher than Java’s 75% average. The clouds ahead were black, pregnant with impending rain, and the wind had started to pick up, a sure warning the heavens were about to break.
We only just reached our Airbnb in time. In damp clothes we watched from the porch as the rain pummelled the concrete and made a river of the road.

Our Airbnb was nestled deep in a family orientated neighbourhood of narrow roads and modest single storey cubey homes. The call to prayer from small community mosques reached us from all directions five times a day. The house had no outside windows as such (to better keep the interior cooler? for privacy?), all surfaces are hard and shiny to better keep things cool and clean, and there was a small prayer room. Best of all, we had a kitchen area with water dispenser, stovetop (no ovens in Indonesia, all gas canister hob cooking), and fridge. All pots, plates, utensils were securely kept in a large plastic box.

Foraging for food is tricky. The Indomaret and Alfamart convenience stores (everywhere) only sell snacks and food like noodles and large bags of cooking oil. No fresh food. Supermarkets - as we know them - are like hen’s teeth and are usually only found in city centre shopping malls. We learnt later the outdoor market where everyone gets their food only opens early (setting up from 2am). A little grocery store on Googlemaps looked promising… but wasn’t where the map said it was: we would never have found it without the help of a friendly man who took us there himself, all smiles. Loved buying vegetables: such a pleasure to have control once more over what we may eat and the quantity. Excited about eating home cooked food (that’s not fried!) .

The next day I experienced bad stomach cramps and diarrhoea. From our spaghetti the night before? The cafe where we’d had a late lunch? Drinking the water - although boiled - in my tea? Luckily we were having a rest day to plan routes across Indonesia. We booked a night train to take us to Malang. We ventured out to a logistics company to package our bikes and send them ahead to Malang (bikes can’t go on passenger trains with us unfortunately). It felt very strange not to have our bikes with us anymore, and a little anxiety-inducing.

Early to bed as we were getting picked up by our guide at 3am to take us up Mt Ijen in time for sunrise.

At 2am I woke to some crashing and scrabbling noises in the house. Tentatively I got up to investigate. Opening the bedroom door I saw a shadow bolt across the floor. Another scooted into another room. Rats! I quickly moved to the kitchen, collecting up the few items of food we had left in a bag on the counter and popped it securely in the fridge. I took the bin outside. Lilz had come to see why the lights were on and was soon broom in hand chasing the rats out the house. Their speed and agility was hard to believe. We discovered they had gotten in through the bath plug hole and up through the grate in the bathroom. We inserted the plug and put a large water container over the grate. Hopefully they wouldn’t return…

Mount Ijen is an active volcano in East Java, famous for the rare ‘blue fire’ phenomenon caused by burning sulfuric gases and its turquoise-colored, highly acidic crater lake. It's also known for its traditional sulfur mining operation.

We’d been told that we wouldn’t be able to see the blue fire as the mining company was doing maintenance. Disappointed as it’s so rare to see this phenomenon (only two other sites in the world: Iceland and Ethiopia) but we were still keen to go. How often do you get to go up a volcano?

We paid (725,000 IDR each = £33) for the tour, slightly more than the going rate but we wanted our money to go to ‘Ijen Miner Tours’. Started in 2010 as a student social project to find ways for miners and their family to earn extra income, the company has empowered village locals to guide tourists and open up their homes as accommodation. Today they have many locals working as hosts, tour guides, and drivers.

The steep drive up the volcano took an hour in the dark. From the car park, head torches guiding our way, we started the hike up to the crater lip, chatting to Rouf as we went.

Mt Ijen is one of the few places in the world where sulphur mining is still done by hand. The work is exceptionally hard, and carried out in the most hostile and unsafe environment. The air is acrid and thick with yellow noxious fumes in the depths of the volcanic crater, and the work takes its toll on the men’s backs and joints, with many suffering respiratory, skin and eye complaints.

A private Indonesian mining company holds the contract from the government to extract the ‘Devil’s gold’. The sulphur is used in industries like fertiliser, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. In Java it is used in matches and to make sugar whiter, among other things. The company employs 250 or so people, made up of about 30 miners, and the rest porters.

The miners use metal rods to break up sulphur chunks, formed when volcanic gases cool into solidified sulphur. They work in 15-day periods: 15 days labouring and 15 days of rest. For every 15 days spent in the crater, a miner receives a fixed salary of $120 (£92).

Porters collect the sulphur blocks into wicker and bamboo baskets which they then carry out of the crater. They pack heavy loads weighing 70-90kgs - more than their body weight - and carry these slowly 300 meters up the steep path on the inside of the crater to the rim, before descending 3km to the weighing station. Porters often repeat this journey twice a day, forming thick calluses and wounds on their shoulders. They are paid 1,500 rupiahs (IDR) (7p) per kilo transported, each day earning £10. If working 25 days a month this equates to a £250 monthly salary.

In our eyes, this seems like meager compensation for such difficult and dangerous work. But in this inhospitable region where work is scarce, these salaries are much-coveted. Neighbouring workers harvesting coffee in plantations growing on the volcano, earn $3 for a 12-hour day, yielding a monthly salary of $75 (£57). An article I read from a photographer who spent many years with Mt Ijen workers, said: “They never complain or expect compassion from tourists who witness their daily exploits... We owe them respect, if for nothing but the life lessons they teach us each day.” His article also interviewed one of the porters: “I am proud of the work I’ve accomplished here over the last eight years… I get to rest in the afternoon after work. I make my schedule, choose the weight of the load that I transport, and enjoy great camaraderie with all my friends. It feels good to be photographed like the stars. When the tourists leave (around 8am) the baskets’ weight suddenly seems heavier and harder to carry. There are lots of girls that want to take pictures with me, and I love feeling like a hero in front of all these strangers.”

Once back at the house we took the rest of the day catching up on sleep, letting my stomach settle, and looking ahead to Malang. The next day we packed up and caught the new 19.47 Ijen Ekspres train. Lucky for us this night service, which only began operating in February 2025, provides a more comfortable (air conditioned, comfy seats) than the day service, something we appreciated for the 7hr journey. Due to high demand the cheaper seats were all sold out, so we ended up in swanky executive seats 💺 and super extravagant they felt too!! Way better than anything experienced at home. All for £25 for both our tickets. Malang here we come!Read more