1. Cross the Savanna at Baluran National Park

Located on the outskirts of Banyuwangi at the end of some wonderfully smooth and winding coastal roads, Baluran feels more like an African savanna than a park in the tropics. The landscape is parched grassland and acacia scrub, with monsoon forest and mangroves fanning out toward the coast. Home to wild populations of leopard cats, forest pigs, Java rusa deer, three species of monkey and the endangered java banteng (buffalo), this is a great place for nature lovers. Just 15km from the main entrance you’ll find the white sandy bay of Bama Beach, where an offshore coral reef creates delicate ripples in the warm ocean waters. Off the beaten track and blessed with epic scenery, Baluran is a unique and strangely incongruous place to spend the day.

2. Explore the Colourful Streets of Malang

Kampungs Tridi and Jodipan are separated by a slow and lazy river, but what unites these two inner-city villages is their love of colour and a flair for creativity. Several years ago, the residents of two neighbouring villages teamed up with a group of art students from the local university to paint every wall, alleyway and building in bright and lively tones. With many quirky and comical murals now daubed on walls all around the place, along with sculptures, gardens and cafes; this creative community has turned the whole neighbourhood into one big gallery. Potter the luminous lanes and chat to the locals, who are just as cheerful and welcoming as the brightly coloured walls that they call their home.

3. Find the Eternal Blue Flame at Ijen Volcano

Trek to the summit of Ijen before the dawn and you’ll be rewarded by an otherworldly sight: a lunar landscape, illuminated by mysterious blue flames and the flicker of miners’ torches in the inky black depths of the crater. Ijen is a stratovolcano, home to the world’s largest sulphur lake, which shines like iridescent sapphire from the hollowed-out cone of the mountain. Venture down the jagged walls of the crater and it’s as though the world has swallowed you down to its molten, bubbling core. The fumes, the lake of acid and the serrated cervices aren’t enough to dissuade Ijen’s troop of night workers, who come down here in the darkness to carve sulphur from the vents in the still-active volcano. Exhilarating, dramatic and ethereal, this is an adventure into the fiery heart of Java that’s not to be missed.

4. Meet the Ijen Sulphur Miners

Workers at ijen have long mined the sulphur that collects around vents at the heart of the active volcano. The men here work in dangerous conditions, breathing deadly fumes and scaling the crumbling walls of the crater with loads of up to 100kg per man, strapped across their backs in baskets. After emerging from the choking depths, they then carry their cargo down the mountain to be weighed and sold (sulphur sells for approximately IDR 1,000 per kilogram - less than ten cents). With shoulder muscles warped and deformed from all the heavy lifting, and with lungs shredded by the toxic clouds of gas, they toil back and forth through the night, each man making the trip up and down the mountain as many as three times every day, for a maximum yield of 300kg. On a good day at market they can sell this yield for a total of around Rp 300,000 ($21USD).

5. Discover Batik & Tobacco in Surabaya

House of Sampoerna is an absolute must if you’re heading to Indonesia’s second largest city. Here you will find a museum and working factory dedicated to the noble art of rolling tobacco. Track the history of one of the nation’s biggest kretek producers through a series of excellent displays in charming colonial buildings tucked away in the heart of the city. Lightning-fingered ladies still roll Sampoerna’s distinctive clove cigarettes here by hand, in a blur of mind-boggling dexterity. House of Sampoerna is also home to an art gallery containing some intriguing pieces from around Indonesia, whilst the gift shop is situated just below a batik workshop built into the eaves of the old Dutch cottage and warehouse buildings.

Panorama Destination offers a range of tours and adventures in East Java, combining all of the above experiences, and a whole lot more besides! For more info about programmes available, click here.