60 pieces · NaturePhoto by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Sunrise over the Tengger caldera in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia — Mount Bromo venting steam above the cloud-filled Sea of Sand, with Mount Semeru on the horizon.
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Sunrise Over the Bromo Caldera
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Sunrise Over the Bromo Caldera
Mount Bromo is not the tallest peak in its range, nor the most dramatic in profile, but it is the one everybody climbs a hill in the dark to see. It is a somma volcano in the Tengger massif of East Java, Indonesia, reaching 2,329 metres — roughly 7,641 feet — and it sits inside something far larger than itself. The whole bowl in this photograph is the Tengger caldera, left behind when an ancient volcano destroyed itself in an explosion around 45,000 years ago. Four new cones have since pushed up through the floor of that crater, and Bromo is the one still obviously awake, breathing the pale column of steam that rises through the middle of the frame.
The flat expanse the cones stand in is the Tengger Sand Sea, a plain known locally as the Laut Pasir and protected as a nature reserve since 1919 — the only sand sea inside a conservation area anywhere in Indonesia. At sunrise it does what it is doing here: fills to the brim with cloud, so the cones appear to float. The sharp silhouette on the right horizon is Semeru, at 3,676 metres the highest mountain on Java and an active volcano in its own right. The name Bromo is the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, and the mountain is a working pilgrimage site rather than only a viewpoint — there is an idol of Ganesha at the mouth of the crater, and the Tenggerese people who live around the caldera carry offerings up to its rim.
As a jigsaw this one rewards patience, because most of the picture is soft. Start with the two hard edges the image gives you: the dark triangular rim of Bromo's cone, which is the blackest thing in the frame, and the ridgeline running right from it toward Semeru. Those two lines split the scene into sky, mountain and cloud. The steam plume is your next anchor — it is the only bright vertical in the picture, and its curling edge gives pieces a shape to match rather than just a colour. Leave the cloud sea until late: it is a wide, almost featureless band of grey-white, and the only way through it is to read how the light warms from left to right as the sun comes up. The scrubby branches in the bottom-right corner are the sharpest texture anywhere in the image, so finish there if you want to end on something easy.
How to play
- Tap Play Sunrise Over the Bromo Caldera puzzle to open the puzzle board, then choose your piece count and difficulty.
- Drag pieces from the tray onto the board and snap them into place until the full image is complete. Works with mouse on desktop and touch on mobile.
- Use the Preview button on the play screen to peek at the full reference image whenever you need a hint.
- When you finish, check your solve time on the completion screen and share it with friends to see who can beat your record.
Frequently asked questions
- Where exactly is Mount Bromo?
- In Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, Indonesia — east of Malang, west of Lumajang and southeast of Surabaya, the provincial capital. The mountain is part of the Tengger massif and stands inside the Tengger caldera, a crater left by a much older and much larger volcano. It is one of the most visited destinations in East Java.
- What is the flat area the volcanoes are standing in?
- It is the Tengger Sand Sea, or Laut Pasir — a volcanic sand plain on the floor of the ancient caldera, sitting at roughly 2,100 metres and covering about 5,250 hectares. It has been protected as a nature reserve since 1919 and is the only sand sea inside a conservation area in Indonesia. In this photograph it is hidden under a layer of early-morning cloud.
- Which mountain is on the horizon?
- Semeru, the highest mountain on Java at 3,676 metres and an active volcano. It sits in the same national park as Bromo, which is why the park carries both names. Bromo itself is lower, at 2,329 metres, but far more active and far more famous — four separate cones have emerged from the old caldera floor, and Bromo is the restless one.
- Why is Bromo a pilgrimage site?
- Its name is the Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, and there is an idol of Ganesha — the god of wisdom — at the mouth of the crater, worshipped by Javanese Hindus. The Tenggerese people who live in the surrounding highlands maintain the tradition, climbing to the crater rim to make offerings. The mountain is an active religious site, not only a sunrise viewpoint.