Staring into the volcano's active crater is mesmerising. Mount Bromo (below, foreground) in eastern Java, Indonesia, constantly billows out sulfurous, grey smoke and ash. It rises quickly, creating 'clouds' that carry for hundreds of metres.
From where we stand on the dusty crater rim, almost 2,400 metres above sea level, the more powerful volcano Semeru (below, background) belches ash even higher. Barely 100 metres away is the perfect remnant cone of the Batok volcano (below, left). This is the Tengger caldera, located in the far east of Indonesia's most populated island. It's a moonscape of incredible peaks, kilometres of ash and barren land set in the most volcanically active area in the world - Indonesia's Ring of Fire.
Along with most visitors to the area, we arrive before dawn to watch the sunrise over the barren surroundings. Without heed to any potential health and safety considerations, visitors can walk the entire rim of the volcano as it smoulders. It can be quite a hike.
To reach the rim, visitors must climb 253 steep stairs that lead to the edge. This comes after an hour-long walk across the 10 sq km spectacular (but pitch black before dawn) Sea of Sand - the result of Bromo's regular eruptions. Once at the top, the most striking thing is the smell of sulfur and the white clouds of gas.
Visitors can look directly into the crater's cracked bottom. On a clear day, the view from the top is amazing; a vast and rugged terrain of barren slopes and brown and grey ash. Large pieces of pumice stone litter the ground, a reminder of its active days.
The volcano has erupted five times since 1980. Its last fatal eruption was in 2004, when an explosion sent rocks the size of volleyballs into the air, killing two tourists and injuring five others. Immediately after the eruption, locals brought food and other offerings to the volcano in an attempt to appease it. Bromo has remained inactive since then. Indonesia has an early warning system but no alert was issued in 2004. Volcanologists say while Bromo is active, it rarely sends lava or debris down the slope.