We showed some photos and a time-lapse of Mount Bromo and Mount Semeru a few days ago. The view was so spectacular that we figured it was worth repeating… ☺ The smoke fuming above is from Mount Semeru, which last erupted on December 4, 2021, and is the tallest mountain in Java.

The Kasada Cultural Festival was expected to be one of the highlights on our trip to Java. During the Hindu ceremony known as Yadnya Kasada, the people from the village of Tenngger, Java, and visitors from around Indonesia climb to the top of the volcano and make offerings into the crater of Mount Bromo. These offerings range from food, flowers, and money to livestock. Horseback rides are offered to those who cannot make the steep climb to the volcano from the parking area.

Thousands of people from all parts of the region came to this celebration, including Hindus from Bali. We were told that offerings would continue to be made until after 4:00 AM the following morning.

Offerings were brought to the main temple. As with the offerings brought to the mountain crater, these included fresh produce from the farms. cooked foods and even live animals. We saw a traffic jam of people lined up to get into the temple area.

There were people who came in motor bikes, the back of pickup trucks, buses, vans, and horseback. Dave and Burt even wore their udengs (upper-left), the traditional Hindu head dress for religious events.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to our guide, the tribal leaders made a last moment decision to refuse entry to foreign visitors. We were therefore not allowed beyond the festival grounds outside the temple, and were not allowed to climb to the mountain crater. Thus, the expected highlight of this portion of our travels in Java was a bust… ☹