UPDATE 23 August - The 2022 edition of Ijen Trail - Race to the Blue Fire cannot take place in the aftermath of the covid crisis in the Bondowoso region. Local authorities have emphasised the event will be permitted to return in 2023.
Introduction
6th edition of another big volcano event in East Java, close to holiday island Bali. Ijen is less known than the more western located Bromo, but equally impressive and beautiful.
There are 4 race categories at Ijen Ultra Trail of which 2 qualify for Asia Trail Master championship points: 105 km and 75 km. The two longest distances are also valid for 1 point of each trail runner's Grandmaster Quest. UPDATE 2020: the 100k course has undergone some modification. The route will follow the course of the 70K until Ijen summit, following which 100k runners continue to another peak nearby. 70k runners return down from Ijen summit as usual. The additional elevation gain for 100k course is estimated at 300 hm (to be confirmed in March).
Blue fire is a phenomenon that is formed due to sulfur mining activities at the bottom of the crater producing blue fire at night. Besides being known as the largest acid lake in the world, the Ijen Volcano area has spectacular views against the background of Mount Merapi, Raung Mountain and the Ijen Crater itself. Ijen Blue Fire Trails 2020 is an annual running event held in the Ijen Volcano Region since 2015 under the name Ijen Trail Running. The participants will go through the Ijen crater volcano complex with the Mount Merapi stratovolcano as its highest peak. The variety of trails going through the nature reserve, forests and the best arabica coffee plantations is a special attraction that is a pity to miss. This area has many main tourist sites in Bondowoso Regency such as; Wurung Crater, Hot Water and Blawan and Mini Niagara Falls, Wurung Crater, Kali Pahit Water fall, and of course the incredible Ijen Crater. The 6th edition of the event will present new lines and categories and of course new challenges compared to previous years. The start location is adjacent to the Catimore Hotels and several surrounding tourist destinations that can be reached on foot from the Hotel. The existence of a hot spring which is quite close to the location of the activity allows participants to soak for a long time after taking a tiring running track.
Event website
Check the official event website for details and fine print
International gateway
Fly into Surabaya if you can, or Denpasar in Bali. From both international airports there are event shuttle busses to Bondowoso. However, they take several hours. By far the easiest way is to fly to Banyuwangi in East Java, which is only 90 minutes to 2 hours away from the event venue. Banyuwangi has opened a direct flight connection to Kuala Lumpur in 2019 with Citilink, the budget airline belonging to Garuda Indonesia, so check for that. There’s also direct connections in the pipeline to Singapore and Hong Kong. By the way, Banyuwangi has some very nice hotels at decent prices and is worth a night to relax. After the event, it is easy to go to Bali by ferry (45 minutes).
At the Ijenevent site, there’s local guesthouses and small hotels. More details will become available soon.
TEASER VIDEO 2018 edition
Running back in time
Logistics
The event website has a complete overview of available transport and accommodation services for the event venue, Bondowoso. In a nutshell, international runners best fly into Surabaya or Denpasar (Bali), from where bus transport is foreseen at a modest surcharge. There is a smaller airport also in Banyuwangi, which is actually closest to the race venue -max 2 hours-, so if you can, fly there. From Surabaya or Bali airports you need to account for 5-7 hours of bus travel to reach the destination.
It is possible to book your transport and homestay accommodation straightaway. Please refer to the event webpage for details.
POST-RACE TOUR PACKAGE TO CLIMB GUNUNG RAUNG!
RACE COURSE MAP & PROFILE 100 KM & 70 KM
GALLERY
