Kawah Ijen Is Closed on the First Friday of Every Month

Kawah Ijen is closed on the first Friday of every month. The hike starts after midnight, so a trip that sets off on the first Thursday evening reaches the crater on Friday, when it is closed.

Example: if the first Friday is the 2nd, leaving on the evening of Thursday the 1st puts you at the crater after midnight on Friday the 2nd. That is the closure date.

Three ways around it

1. Move the Ijen night. If Ijen is your main goal, pick another date for the Ijen Blue Fire night hike. The hike takes 2 to 3 hours. The drive to the Ijen area from Surabaya or Malang takes 6 to 8 hours.
2. Take a longer tour and swap the order. On the Tumpak Sewu, Ijen & Bromo 4-day tour we can put Bromo before Ijen when Ijen would fall on the closure day. The price stays the same.
3. Use the extra days of a 5 or 6-day route (5 days, 6 days). More days make it easier to find an open night.

What to send us

Your arrival date, the flight or ferry you leave on, and which stops matter most. We reply by email with a route that avoids the closure.

Good to know

• The blue fire shows only in the dark, and we cannot promise it. Wind and gas decide.
• Our Ijen tours include a gas mask and a local guide. More in our Ijen safety guide.
• The Bromo jeep outing runs about 02:00 to 09:00, so after Ijen you will want a rest.

Related tour

‹ › 4 Days 3 Nights

Tumpak Sewu, Ijen & Bromo (4 Days 3 Nights) Surabaya → Tumpak Sewu → Ijen → Bromo → Surabaya Three East Java icons in four days: Tumpak Sewu waterfalls, the Ijen blue fire and crater lake, and the Bromo sunrise. Hotels with breakfast, guides, jeep and photographer included. From IDR 2,600,000 View itinerary →