THE Indonesian city of Surabaya, teeming with business travellers, is also the gateway to visit some of East Java’s top-notched attractions like the sacred Mount Bromo and the cool hill station of Batu city, popularised by the Dutch colonials.

Mount Bromo (2,329m above sea level) is probably one of the most spectacular volcanoes in the Indonesia archipelago.

Located within the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, it is a three–hour drive from Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport.

From the airport, most visitors head for an overnight stay at Tosari’s Bromo Cottages, which is popular for its proximity to Mount Bromo.

Sunrise tour

The highlight is the much anticipated sunrise tour.

To beat the crowd, it is ideal to set off around 4am for the 2,770m-high Mount Penanjakan, from where you can get your fill of the grandeur of Mount Bromo.

Mount Penanjakan is easily accessible by a fourwheel-drive vehicle, as the road is smooth.

Carry a light jacket as the temperature hovers around 8 deg C. As we were early before the spilling crowd, we sat at a local cafe sipping hot ginger tea and warming ourselves next to a stove with hot charcoal.

The viewpoint gradually filled up with an enthusiastic crowd. Like us, everybody waited eagerly for the break of dawn.

We cheered as the sky brightened around 5.30am and cast its light on the magnificent Mount Bromo.

The avid photographers excitedly snapped photographs of the volcano, which is flanked by the nearby Mount Batok and Mount Semeru in the background.

If you have an eye for detail, you can also spot the tiny Poten Hindu Temple (Pura Luhur Poten) in the foreground.

As the sky brightened up, we were amazed by the height of the spilling ash cloud in contrast to the charming hamlets at the foot of the hill.

Satiated by the view of the sunrise, we returned to Bromo Cottages for our breakfast. We sat near the veranda, sipping our coffee and watching the fog rise from the valley below.

We were awed by the steep slopes of the terraced hills planted with green crops like cabbages. The villagers were also busy carrying their harvest to sell at the local market.

The cottage has very charming gardens with beautiful purplish hydrangeas, crimson yellow daylilies and white calla lilies. We wished we had more time to soak in the tranquillity of the surroundings.

Crunchy apples

Leaving Tosari, we passed by an interesting village called Nongkojajar.

We saw a truckload full of green apples being loaded by the villagers. Out of curiosity, we decided to buy a few to taste their crunchiness.

The locals sensed our enthusiasm and invited us to visit their orchards, which lie a few meters away.

While walking along the footpath, the red apple trees were on our right while the green apple trees were on the left.

We spotted some dirt on the apples and were told by the villagers that there was lava rain the night before. So we wiped the apples clean and savoured them — they were so crunchy that we could not resist a second helping.

The Little Switzerland

Tourists with the luxury of time should visit Batu city, which was once a popular hill resort of the colonial Dutch and is blessed with fresh air and idyllic scenery.

We stayed at Kusuma Agrowisata (located in Ngaglik village) to be closer to nature and get a glimpse of a farmer’s life.

The plantation spans about 7ha and offers comfortable rooms with beautiful mountain views.

We toured the farms to see their abundant harvest of crunchy apples, fleshy pink guavas, ripe strawberries and hydroponic vegetables.

We were allowed to pick three pink guavas each from the orchard. Naturally, we searched for the biggest and freshest ones.

For the avid botanists, there are also many nurseries selling vegetable seedlings or rare species of Paphiopedilum orchids, commonly known as slipper orchids.

Kusuma Agrowisata is well maintained with neatly trimmed gardens and some dinosaur models to add a “Jurassic Park” touch to the area.

At the restaurant, we had a splendid and unblocked view of Batu city.

The clouds were nestled around the hilltop of Mount Panderman where Batu is situated on the hillside.

We felt like we were in a small town in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps that is the reason why the city is also called “The Little Switzerland” in Java. Batu city (800m above sea level) enjoys cool weather that ranges between 17 and 25 deg C.

This agro city produces fresh fruits like apples twice a year (in March and September). The apples are also often made into apple juice or apple vinegar.

Refreshing waterfall

In Batu, the Coban Rondo Waterfall on the slope of Mount Panderman resort (32km west of Malang) is an undiscovered gem.

Surrounded by lush green hills with pine trees and casuarinas and endowed with cool temperate climate, the waterfall descends from a height of 60m, bringing along a long and generous flow of crystal clear spring water.

Walking closer to the waterfall, the fallen spring water formed sprays that moisturised our faces and washed away any perspiration. Within minutes, we were all drenched but enjoyed the experience.