Tourist Fatality Brings Renewed Warnings For Hiking In Bali 

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Tourists in Bali and across Indonesia are being urged to take safety warnings from the government and guides seriously when hiking in the county’s mountains and volcanos.

The renewed warnings come after a Chinese tourist died after falling into the crater of East Java’s Mount Ijen. 

Since West Bali and East Java are so close to one another, tourism leaders want to see these two untapped tourism destinations managed as a combined nature tourism area.

With so much focus on tourism development in the south of Bali, with more destinations gaining attention in the north and west, leaders have long been talking about the benefits of promoting East Java and its iconic Mount Ijen active volcano and West Bali, home to the West Bali National Park.

@mauiandtrizzy 🌋Mount Ijen #Bali #Java #indonesia #travel ♬ original sound – Maui and Trizzy

Mount Ijen has hit international headlines this week as it was annoyed that a tourist from China lost her life at the crater summit of the famous blue flame volcano.

The 31-year-old woman, known to the media by her initials HL, was posing at the summit crater, having completed the hike with her husband, their guide, and a small group of fellow hikers.

HL is said to have been standing for a photo at a 2-3m distance from the rim of the crater. As she took a step backward, she tripped on her clothing, fell backward, and down into the volcano crater 100m out of sight. 

@couplesquest_ Would you wake up at 12am and hike to the top of an active volcano for this view? 🤯 Mount Ijen is the final place we visited in East Java, and it came with the best views. We loved every moment on top of this mountain…even if it was genuinely so cold! 😂 We’d do it all over again in a heartbeat 🙌🏼 #kawahijen #ijen #ijencrater #eastjava #indonesiaparadise #travelindonesia #travelinspired #beautifuldestinations #traveldreams #travel #indonesia #activevolcano ♬ original sound – MashBit

Emergency rescue teams were immediately called to the scene, and once they arrived at the summit, it took a further two hours to recover HL from the spot where she landed. Her body has now been transferred to Bali, and she will be repatriated to China as soon as possible. 

The Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, has issued a statement to all hikers on Indonesia’s famous volcanoes and mountains. “This is, of course, the safety aspect that we must prioritize; we prioritize it. We are very concerned.”

@charlotteamyrose_ #mountijen #mountijenindonesia #traveljava #volcanohiking #sunrise #indonesia #thingstodoinjava #MountainViews #traveldestinations #southeastasia #BeautifulNature #MountainsVibes #BeautifulPlaces #TravelAdventures ♬ My Tears Are Becoming a Sea – M83

He added “we give a firm appeal so that this incident would not happen again. Because the Ijen Crater sunrise block is a very favorite spot. So please prioritize safety. And for tourists to be guided and ensure they follow the rules.”

This is sadly not the first tourist death to be reported on Mount Ijen this year. In February, a Polish tourist died while hiking to the summit of the famous volcano.

The man, known by his initials KAS, was believed to have died of health complications from existing medical conditions or exhaustion as a result of the hike since he collapsed partway through the trek to the summit. 

While the hike to Mount Ijen is strenuous, it is on par with the hike to the summits of both Mount Agung and Mount Batur in Bali.

It has to be said that most tourists seriously underestimate the difficulty of the sunrise hike to Mount Batur.

Since the hike is such a popular activity with tourists, there is an underlying assumption that the route will be well-trodden, safe, and easy to complete.

That’s not quite the case. While the route is well trodden, it’s certainly a challenge physically and in terms of the conditions of the trail itself.

The path is narrow in places, incredibly steep, and rocky in others, and since there are so many people hiking the trail every day, there is a certain pressure to keep things moving.

It is also essential to take a guide because, again, while the route is well-trodden, it is not well-signposted, and the hike is generally completed in darkness to reach the summit for sunrise. One wrong sidestep can result in going wild off the piste, which is when injuries are most likely to occur.

Toursts are reminded that these three ultra-popular volcanoes, Mount Batur, Mount Agung and Mount Ijen are all active volcanos and should be respected and approached as such.