Description
Highlights of this safari:
- Climb Mount Bromo and Ijen volcano
- Discover Yogyakarta and its surroundings by bycicle
- Walk in one of the last pristine jungles of Java
- Enjoy cultural highlights of Java like Prambanan and Borobodur
Short overview:
- Day 1 – 4: Yogyakarta
- Day 5: Sukuh
- Day 6: Malang
- Day 7: Bromo
- Day 8 – 9: Kalibaru
- Day 10: Sukamade
- Day 11-12: Ijen
- Day 13: Departure or continue to other destinations
Program & Route:
Day 1 – Yogyakarta, Hotel Ecplise / The Phoenix.
On arrival in Yogyakarta you will be transfered to your hotel. You can walk around and have lunch in one of the many eateries in one of the nicest parts of town. There are also several salons where you can get a good massage. Very helpful against a jetlag!
Day 2 – Yogyakarta, Hotel Eclipse / The Phoenix.
On this day it is nice to do a city tour through Yogyakarta by becak (trishaw). That is the best way to deal with the maze of small streets of the old town. You can go for instance to the famous Kraton of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, or visit a wayang kulit- or batik-workshop, in order to give you an idea how these art forms from Yogya are produced.
Yogya is a very good place for souvenirs. Joining a cooking class is a nice activity while in Yogya. The chef from a well-known neighborhood restaurant will teach you about Indonesian cuisine. You will learn everything about the many spices that they use to give their food its delicious flavour.
Day 3 – Yogyakarta, Hotel Eclipse / The Phoenix.
After breakfast it is time for a few minutes’ drive out of the city center to find the traditional Javanese country life. Then it is time to ride a bike along rice fields and sugarcane-plantations you will come close to the busy daily life in the villages. An accompanying guide will give the necessary information. If you do not want to ride a bicycle you can do the same tour by horse cart.
In the afternoon we leave for Prambanan. En route we will visit Kota Gede, home to workplaces that produce beautiful silverware. Prambanan is a Hindu complex of temples. This is a wonderful place to see the sunset, while sitting on one of the temples. After this enjoy a lovely Indonesian buffet, followed by the Ramayana ballet.
Day 4 – Yogyakarta, Hotel Eclipse / The Phoenix.
A visit to the friendly village of Candirejo is on the program today. Candirejo is a typical Javanese village, lying at close distance of the Borobudur temple. Supported by a local organization the villagers have started a sustainable tourism project. The object is to bring tourists in contact with Javanese village-life. You will have time to look around at a leisurely pace in order to really get to know the daily life.
You will go on a tour around the countryside by local horse-cart (angdong). You will drive across plantations where people are working and you will stop regularly to taste the unique atmosphere. This interesting tour is concluded with a traditional Javanese meal served in one of the local houses.
After this we head on out to Borobudur, one of the seven wonders of the world. We arrive here at the end of the afternoon, which means that there are not so many tourists left and you will have the place practically to yourself. At sunset you will drive back to Yogyakarta.
Day 5 – Sukuh, Hotel Sukuh Cottage / Novotel Solo.
We leave for Solo, a royal city by tradition and famous for its dancing and wayang puppetry. You can visit the Kraton and Pasar Klewer briefly, the famous Javanese textile-market. In the afternoon we drive along tobacco- and sugarcane-fields to the mysterious, exotic Sukuh temple, high in the mountains. A lovely walk takes you through unspoiled mountain scenery to Tawangmanggu. Here you can bathe underneath a cooling waterfall. We drive on to Sukuh. This place is lying at an altitude of 1287 meter and is refreshingly cool.
Day 6 – Malang, Hotel Enny’s Guest House / Santika Malang.
The first part of the trip leads through the mountains to the sugar city of Madiun. We drive along teakwood plantations before we climb through the mountains to Malang. This used to be a very popular place for the Dutch in colonial times and you will notice there is still a lot of colonial atmosphere to be savored.
Day 7 – Bromo, Hotel Lava View / Java Banana.
Today we go on an adventure! The car takes us to a small village south of Mount Bromo where we will change to open jeeps. The jeep will take you through beautiful scenery, you will visit a waterfall and finally you arrive at the ‘sand sea’ surrounding Bromo. The jeep descends and will bring you spectacularly to your hotel at the crater-rim. It has fantastic views of Mount Bromo and its smoking crater.
Day 8 – Kalibaru, Hotel Margo Utomo.
Today will be an early start, if you want to be in time for the spectacular sunrise on the crater rim of Mount Bromo. You can get there on foot, by horse or by jeep. At first daylight the scenery looks like a lunar landscape, a sight that will stay with you for a lifetime. We return to the hotel for breakfast and after that drive to Kalibaru. Here we will stay in a hotel on a plantation.
Day 9 – Kalibaru, Hotel Margo Utomo.
A day to relax at the pool or to a walk on the plantation. You will get information about many plants and spices that grow here such as clove, pepper, cinnamon, pineapple and lots of other plants. If you have energy left it is possible to hike to a waterfall three kilometers out of town.
Day 10 – Sukamade, Hotel Sukamade Guest House.
Today we go off the beaten track to the Meru Betiri Nature Park. This park is named after the highest mountain in the area: The Gunung Betiri (1.223m). In the park you can find one of the few primary forests left on Java. You will find mangroves, swamps and beaches. Passing a coffee- and cacao plantation a jeep takes you to one of the largest indigenous part of jungle in East Java to Sukamade.
You will stop at the beach near a fishing village. The ideal spot for a picnic lunch. From here, you can go for a 5 km. walk through tropical forest. You might be lucky to spot the hornbill bird. From the canopy curious monkeys keep an eye on you. It’s a spectacular drive on a rough dirttrack. Sometimes you have to cross rivers to reach the village of Sukamade in the middle of the jungle. You stay in a very simple accommodation where you share a bedroom amongst 3-4 people. If you like you can go for another (optional) walk at the end of the afternoon. The walk takes you through rain- and bambooforest ending at a stunning viewpoint.
After diner, it is time to head for Pantai Penyu. Here we try to search the majestic sea turtles that come on shore to lay their eggs. This is one of the few places left in the world where you can witness this remarkable event.
Day 11 – Ijen, Hotel Ketapang Indah / Ijen Resort.
After visiting the rubber plantation we head back to civilization. But not for long. We change our jeep for a car and climb into the mountains. Here lies a resort with a beautiful view of Ijen volcano. This is a haven of peace and quiet. Ijen volcano has a giant caldera that is 20 km. wide at some points. There is a blue lake inside and on its shore there are numerous sulfur-wells. Every day porters descend into the caldera to get sulfur, inhaling the toxic fumes daily, and carry it downhill. Some of them carry up to ninety kilo.
Day 12 – Ijen, Hotel Ketapang Indah / Ijen Resort.
Early in the morning you leave for pos Paltuding to climb Ijen volcano to see its unique blue fire. It is not an easy climb but if you stick to it you will be rewarded. Maybe it helps to think of the porters that descend to the sulfur mine every day and have to climb up with heavy loads. The climb takes about two and a half hours. After this you drive back to the hotel and have a hearty breakfast.
Day 13 – Departure
Today you will transfer to Banyuwangi Airport or go to Bali by ferry from where you will be transferred to your next destination.
