BLUE FIRE IJEN CRATER (NEW UPDATE)

WHAT IS IJEN CRATER:

Ijen Crater is one of the most visited volcanos in Indonesia, it’s located in between Banyuwangi Town and Bondowoso Town but most of the visitors come from Banyuwangi Town because it’s easier to reach via Ferry from Bali, Train from any city in Java Island, and Plane for faster travel. There are some reasons for it, it has amazing landscapes and moderate trekking paths, and there is a natural phenomenon that only can be found in just two in the world. That is the blue fire phenomenon, this is the natural fire that comes from the center of the bottom of the Ijen Crater and we will explain it in the chapter below.

WHAT IS BLUE FIRE IN IJEN CRATER:

Nowadays, visitors are eager to visit Ijen Crater with its electric-blue fire which comes out from the crater of Ijen Crater (bottom of the crater). This is a natural phenomenon that can be seen only 2 in the world, are Ijen Crater and Dallol volcano in the Danakil Depression, in the Afar region of Ethiopia near the borders of Eritrea and Djibouti.

The blue fire in Ijen Crater is an unusual phenomenon because it’s different from the Dallol volcano in Ethiopia. Indonesia’s Ijen Crater emits the rivers of light from burning sulfur. Sulfur combusts in contact with air to create stunning blue lava-like rivers of light in the Ijen Crater on the island of Java. Electric-blue fire can often be seen streaming down the mountain at night. The glow is actually the light from the combustion of sulfuric gases, Grunewald explained. Those gases emerge from cracks in the volcano at high pressure and temperature—up to 1,112°F (600°C). When they come in contact with the air, they ignite, sending flames up to 16 feet (5 meters) high. Some of the gases condense into liquid sulfur which continues to burn as it flows down the slopes. The burning happens day and night, but it’s visible only in darkness.

THE NEW REGULATION FOR BLUE FIRE IJEN:

Before the pandemic of Corona in 2018 or the beginning of 2019, Ijen Crater is open for several timetables, starting at midnight for visitors who want to visit blue fire combines with the sunrise or morning trekking for just the view of the top of Ijen Crater.

But for now, it’s only started to open at 3 am only, so there is no blue fire visit anymore. The reason that we have collected from the local rangers is due to the accident of the visitor and the dangerous path to go down to the blue fire spot where it’s also the way for the miners who work to mind sulfur down at the crater. So, there is some conflict between the miners and visitors, it can endanger some of them when it’s too many visitors who want to go down to the blue fire. (Regulation has been changed)

New Update from May 2022, you can visit the blue fire spot with special precautions and the gate will be opened only at 2 am for trekking, so you should be at the bottom of the crater to see the blue fire before the sunrise. The sun will rise at 5:30 am here, and make sure you visit Ijen with a guide where they will make your trekking in Ijen Crater safe and sound. 

The government decided to open again the blue fire point for any visitors now because it was supposed to be safe to be visited again but they did say that, going down to the blue fire point is still dangerous and we did not recommend it and any risks and accident will be at your own cost

If you need any information about this update, feel free to contact us via WhatsApp or E-Mail:

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