Anna is a co-founder of Adventure in You and has been traveling the world for the last 9 years. She has spent time living in Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, and Spain and is our local expert in these areas. Her expertise on travel, gear, and building businesses have been featured on Foundr, Business Insider, Yahoo Travel, and more.
Like most travelers, we headed to Java to see the famed sunrise at Mt. Bromo. However, unlike every other day, we were celebrating our first anniversary. Although we weren’t too excited about waking up early as we had just arrived after a 1am trek from Kawah Ijen, we knew the view and scenery would be worth it.
We began with an early 3am wake up call. We decided to hike to the sunrise point by ourselves rather than joining a tour. We bundled up in all our warmest clothes and began our ascent in the moonlit sky with the stars and the moon as our guide.
As soon as we got to the viewpoint, the sun started to emerge, coloring the sky in hues of orange and purple as it illuminated the valley below us.
From where we stood, we could see the sea of clouds floating below us as we gazed at the beauty around us. Mt. Bromo in all its glory, let us enjoy this peaceful and serene moment to ourselves.
Unlike the other tourist swarmed sunrise points, there was a total of 6 people where we were at so we got to fully take in the breathtaking scene of the clouds and the mountain, slowly being lit up by the sun.
Despite having traveled to many different places and seen so many beautiful things, this moment was special. We knew that we would never forget that day.
Soon, everything was glowing as the sea of clouds created the perfect backdrop for this rather remarkable viewpoint.
We sat there rather mesmerized as we soaked it all in. The sun was shining, the weather was cool, and we were happy to be there.
We approached a lovely lady in her little straw hut and bought a cup of coffee to warm us up. We sat by a small little bench and enjoyed our stunning view.
We began our descent from our hike as we took photos of the things around us. By this time, the town of Cemoro Lawang was just coming to life. The beauty of this town was definitely overwhelming as we slowly made our way back to the homestay where we spent the night.
We got to our homestay and looked back and saw this beautiful road which we just spent the last three hours walking on.
We packed up our bags and headed on a mini bus back to Probolingo in attempts to catch a local bus to our next destination, Yogyakarta. We left, extremely pleased by our decision not to join a tour as we had witnessed one of the most unforgettable moments that we had shared together.
I’m not a morning person but these photos are amazing and I’m sure dragging myself out of bed would be well worth the view! I’m headed to Java for 10 days beginning in October and Mt. Bromo is #1 on my priority list! What else do you recommend?
Definitely worth it! And do the hike by yourselves as the ones offered by the tours are full of tourists!! We maybe had 3 other people with us! Definitely check out Yogyakarta and do Borubudur and Prambanan temple. Aside from that, Kawah Ijen is pretty cool…Batu Karas for good chilled surf! Enjoy!!!
Happy anniversary!! I’m all for waking up early, and it certainly paid off for you, but ouch lol 3am makes my brain hurt just thinking about it :D! Though absolutely worth it, especially when you get to enjoy those kind of views without being disturbed by ridiculous crowds. What a fab way to celebrate your anniversary 🙂
Can’t argue with you there it really is beautiful and your photos are definitely doing it justice. Especially love the mountains up above the sea of mist
This is one of those surreal scenes where you have to tell yourself repeatedly, “look where I am!”. I hope I can make it here someday to witness it for myself.
Happy anniversary! What a beautiful place to enjoy it. I loved the clouds. Its always so awesome to see them as they rise.
It was so beautiful! Thanks!!
Gorgeous sights. I am not much of a morning riser (unless you mentioned Disney or a big city) but this looks very rewarding for your efforts. 😉
Thank you! Bromo is definitely a stunner- you have to check it out soon!
I’m not a morning person but these photos are amazing and I’m sure dragging myself out of bed would be well worth the view! I’m headed to Java for 10 days beginning in October and Mt. Bromo is #1 on my priority list! What else do you recommend?
Definitely worth it! And do the hike by yourselves as the ones offered by the tours are full of tourists!! We maybe had 3 other people with us! Definitely check out Yogyakarta and do Borubudur and Prambanan temple. Aside from that, Kawah Ijen is pretty cool…Batu Karas for good chilled surf! Enjoy!!!
Happy anniversary!! I’m all for waking up early, and it certainly paid off for you, but ouch lol 3am makes my brain hurt just thinking about it :D! Though absolutely worth it, especially when you get to enjoy those kind of views without being disturbed by ridiculous crowds. What a fab way to celebrate your anniversary 🙂
Trust me, it wasn’t as bad as the 1am hike to Kawah Ijen!! I wasn’t too happy with that :p
Can’t argue with you there it really is beautiful and your photos are definitely doing it justice. Especially love the mountains up above the sea of mist
Waking up early has its perks. Beautiful place and photos. The clouds make it look so nice!
This is one of those surreal scenes where you have to tell yourself repeatedly, “look where I am!”. I hope I can make it here someday to witness it for myself.
How stunningly beautiful. I had not heard of Mt Bromo, but will definitely add it to the very long list I have
Breathtaking! You’ve sold me. I must GO!
YAY! Let us know when it happens. x