Our driver picks us up at 00:00, what an insane time to go and play tourist. Another epic ride through the tropical greens and a pitch-black sky with twinkling stars gets us to the basecamp.

From here we need to walk up to the crater in 1,5 hours.
We meet Ali on the way up, a young and well spirited miner. His English is impressive for having learnt from talking to tourists only.
We share stories on our background and he tells us how his father, grandfather and great grandfather have all worked here. He is a father of 3 and wishes something else for his son than mining, so he comes down here twice a day and sometimes stays at the basecamp’s parking lot to catch some sleep as the next night of mining approaches. In daytime it would be even more unbearable as the heat of the sun and jungles’ humidity add up.
At the ledge of the crater he stops to wait for his buddy so we part and start the descent already feeling sad for what this bloke has to go through.

Indonesian Sulfur Miners Make Offering To Protect Against Disaster…BANYUWANGI, EAST JAVA – DECEMBER 17: Miners carry a goats head for burial in the crater as part of an annual offering ceremony on the Ijen volcano on December 17, 2013 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The ritual is performed by the sulfur miners of Mount Ijen who slaughter a goat and then bury the head in the crater of mount Ijenn. The sacrifice is performed to ward off potential disasters for the next year. The Ijen crater rises to 2,386m, with a depth of over 175m, making it one of the world’s largest craters. Sulphur mining is a major industry in the region, made possible by an active vent at the edge of a lake, but the work is not without risks as the acidity of the water in the crater is high enough to dissolve clothing and cause breathing problems. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Ijen plateau is a volcanic region with three massive cones; Ijen (2368m), Merapi (2800m) and Raung (3332m). 

The Ijen volcano contains the world’s largest acidic crater lake (1km span) which is famous for its turqoise color. The pH of the ‘water’ is 0.5 – about the same as car battery acid! The active crater is also known for producing a lot of sulphur. Sulphur is a natural source of sulphuric acid, used by oil refineries and in the production of detergents and fertilisers. 

Around 300 miners work here, hiking up the crater in the darkest hours to hack out the solidified yellow stuff by hand. The toxic sulphur dioxide clouds are all around and their only protection is a simple cotton scarf. Once their large woven bamboo baskets are full of sulphur (up to 100 Kg!) and on their shoulder, they plod back up the crater and down the hill to sell it for just €12. For this region it’s a decent wage, compared to other possibilities like working on a coffee or rubber plantation. 

The hike down is rocky and slippery, on the way we pass miners with full baskets on their way up. Suddenly we’re hit by a strong cloud of sulphur and we put on our gas masks which help, but breathing still burns and our eyes are stinging.
Once we make it down to the famous hell-ish blue fire we see the slow but steady flow of liquid sulphur on the floor. It’s most uncomfortable down here.

The hike up is quite demanding, maybe the air is more contaminated now, or our lungs are already refusing to cooperate, my body tells me to get the hell outta here.
Back on the crater ledge we wait for the sun to shine upon this hell on earth but what we get next is an amazing view over the dramatic volcanic landscape and the acid crater lake.

Headed down we joke and laugh about stupidities until my cheeks hurt, could it be I’m high on this poisonous air, or on the clean air right now? I don’t know and don’t care, I’m thankful once again for being healthy and having all opportunities in the world. I take a tiny sulphur turtle with me, crafted by a miner, to remind me how blessed I am.

This individual video or this short documentary from the BBC describes the mining in Ijen quite well.