Gunung Penanjakan, Java, Indonesia

4Simon King 5:00 PM Aug 10, 2013

Stunning Views - 400 visitors at the Observation Area to see sunrise and Bromo
OVERALL Mt Penanjakan is a major viewing point for all tourists, in fact, all the tourists arriving in hotels in Probolinggo will end up taking the jeep tour to this place. Most of which will depart from their hotel (depending on their hotel location), either at 3am or 4am and will reach the summit of Mt.Penanjakan at about 5am. The long wait for the sunrise is quite a painful experience bcos the weather was very cold, easily can drop to 7'C to 11'C. JEEP TOUR The jeep itself is a a 6 seater vehicle, comfortable for 4 adults to be seated minus the front 2 seats. It takes about 40 mins to reach the parking lot at Mt. Penanjakan and it's quite chaotic but often well managed by the locals. Visitors are expected to walk the slope hill for about 30-50m in order to get to the summit, the open-air observation area. DRINK STALLS AND LOCAL HAWKERS Along the slopehill, there are up to 6 drink stalls on the narrow road close to the summit and as many local hawkers selling corns for 15,000rp. It adds to the bustling part of Mt Penanjakan. WHAT TO EXPECT At the observation area, there are actually 2 areas of viewing. The left is towards the sunrise and the right is towards Mt Bromo. In my opinion, it is worth to see the sunrise first (5.50am) and then move towards to the right viewing area after 7am. By 5am, the crowd is about 300-500 over people at the observation area. It was that crowded and it was like shoulder to shoulder very packed. Most of the tourists don't get to see a good sunrise. The sun rays will disperse which is why you wont see an eggyolk sunrise. But it is still worth to witness the sunrise. Naturally, when sunrise brightens up the sky, most of the crowds will leave and this is the time (7am) where you can roam freely at the observation area to go towards the right side to see Mt Bromo views. There's no need to rush, plenty of time to take photos when crowds leave. LEAVING THE OBSERVATION AREA Many tourists did not realize, how beautiful the views from Mt Penanjakan, not only to Bromo area but the views towards the distant volcano. In my opinion, a visitor should take their time to spend a great time at Mt Penanjakan when the crowds have left. This is the time to have a good look over Malang, volcano, sand of sea, Bromo, Cemoro Lawang and the east-side view. See photos. It will take about 30mins for the jeep to run down the slope towards the sea of sand. That's basically the end of the visit to Mt Penanjakan. Enjoy.

5alois_thewes 5:00 PM Jan 19, 2015

alternative view point to avoid mass tourist
After we book package by a local agency in surabaya. Our agency javatravelling propose us to visit kingkong hill to avoid mass tourist on the weekend, for first time we want to go to mt. Penanjakan but javatravelling tell us its too crowed on the weekend, so i agree with that and our tour guide agus bring us to kingkong hill, and they are right at kingkong hill its not too crowded such as at mt. Penanjakan, and to access this view point only several guide with agency like javatravelling knows this access..