Mount Bromo in East Java, Indonesia, is the youngest of several volcanoes in the Tengger massif, and is one of Java’s most active volcanoes. When it’s erupting, which it currently is, it emits thick, white, sulphurous smoke. When active, visits to Mount Bromo is generally advised against. Otherwise, the 2,300-meter peak is a popular tourist destination, famous for its scenic location and magnificent sunrise views.
Mount Bromo is located in the middle of a wide expanse of sandy plain called the "Sea of Sand". This barren terrain is also home to around 90,000 Tengger people, a Hindu ethnic minority in the predominantly Muslim Indonesian archipelago. Every year, irrespective of whether the mountain is spewing smoke and fire, hundreds of Tenggerese from nearby villages travel up the mountain in order make food offerings which they throw into the live caldera of the volcano. Aside from fruit, rice, and vegetables, livestock such as goats, chicken and even cows are thrown into the volcano. The offerings are made as part of a festival called Yadnya Kasada, which lasts about a month.
Photo credit: sara marlowe/Flickr
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