VOLCANOES AS TOURISM ATTRACTION NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF ERUPTIONS

Indonesia consists of 33 provinces one of which is Central Java. In this particular province there is the Karanganyar district. Officials in this district continuously develop their natural forest tourism. They lure tourists to the Mount Bromo region which is highly interesting for its set of endangered plants, like sandalwood trees and teak.

According to local information and communication official Iskandar, the research forest on Mt Bromo has become a popular tourist destination as people can see endangered plants. There are also other attractions that bring tourists here. The most popular sight is Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo, 2,392m), which is an active volcano. Mount Bromo itself is located in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park of East Java. There are also other mountains. Mount Batok (2440m) for example is a no longer an active volcano. The local cemara tree that somehow manages to survive on volcanic ash can be found here. Mount Penanjakan (2770m) is easily accessible by paved road from Tosari.

Tourists come here in jeeps or on tour buses. If a visitor wants to experience something special they can hire a horse to bring them up to the mountains. It is important to keep in mind that temperatures on the top of Mount Bromo are rather cold especially at night. It is advisable to rent jackets and hats at local tourism facilities. When speaking about active volcanoes we cannot omit to mention the dangers that are connected with a trip near them. In 2004, two tourists were killed and five injured when the mountain spit out molten rock.

Except natural beauties tourists can also see a site which was once used by Nyi Ageng Serang, the wife of national hero Diponegoro, as a hideout during Dutch colonial days. The Karanganyar district administration also developed a bath in Pablengan village to diversify the offer of tourism attractions.