Bukittinggi : The Most Relaxing City in All Sumatra

Nestled in the highlands north of Padang in the Agam valley, the town of Bukittinggi or ‘high hill’ is West Sumatra’s cultural center. While Padang may be the modern commercial and administrative hub, Bukittinggi is a bustling market town.

Although it is less than a degree south of the equator, Bukittinggi has a refreshingly cool climate due to its elevation – over 900 meters above sea level. While it rains here often, this is not enough to deter travelers who come to enjoy what many claim is the most hospitable city in Sumatra.

The town also has an alternative name, Tri Arga, which refers to the three majestic mountains that shape the regions fortunes.

Many visitors come to Bukittinggi to visit the remarkable Sianok canyon where giant rock cliff faces, rugged trees which grow on top and the dramatic surrounding mountains make this canyon a spellbinding view.

This is an ideal place to go if you want to get beyond the average tourist trail. Compared to other spots in Sumatra, Bukkitinggi only receives a handful of visitors that use the town as a base for nearby hikes or to take cultural tours to the Minangkabau highland.

Source : http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/463/bukittinggi

PARAGLIDING, Fly Like a Bird on South Beach

If you ever dreamed of being a bird, then fly with paragliding is one way to make it happen. Only by harnessing the power of the wind will feel the sensation of floating high in the sky vast and the wind rustling in the silence. Just imagine, when just set foot on earth but a few moments later  was looking at earth from the other side  at an altitude in space. This is a challenging  experience  that not everyone  can do it, feel how fun and pleasure of flying with paragliding.

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport. A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing.

Paragliding equipment is very lightweight, the weight of all equipment  (parachute, harness, backup parachute, helmet) around 10-15 kg. Paragliding equipment is also very practical because it can be incorporated  into a  backpack  that can be picked up  at the back.

Parangendog hill and coastal sand dunes Parangkusumo  is the most ideal training location in Yogyakarta. Although not many people knew of the existence of this hill, but the prangendog hill was enough  famous among the connoisseurs of  paragliding. This place is considered to have the perfect  criteria  for Paragliding. Cliff with contours that fit the slope of  the land  to start early to spread the  parachute  before  flying, as well as a broad sandy beach for a landing. The scenery of Parangendog, Parangtritis  and Parangkusumo  beach becoming a favorite among lovers of paragliding in Indonesia.

From the situation, the hill parangendog become an ideal alternative to  flying  location. Supported also by the existence of  a high cliff  with about 150 m extending towards the  southeast  coast, making the pilot is able to obtain  a height of  up to 600  m above sea level. This is ideal for pilots who want to explore the  parachute to understand the character  of the use of parachutes. Landing location was very convenient. 60 m wide stretch of sand extending up to tens of kilometers  to the west. It's just to be careful when landing due to holiday on the day, visitors who thronged the beach area could reach thousands of them.

Source : Tour Jogja.com - PARAGLIDING, Fly Like a Bird on South Beach

Text & Photo : Andi Kurniawan

GOA JOMBLANG CAVING, Exploring the Treasure of Vertical Cave

The journey to get to the bottom of Goa Jomblang (Jomblang cave) are indeed exhausting. Vertical steep path to reach the bottom of the Jomblang Cave requires bravery, especially for first timers. The cave horrible history indeed scares the local people. Many eerie stories come along with it. However, when we reached the bottom of the cave, all the fatigue and fear will be replaced by a sense of awe of the beauty of Goa Jomblang.

Goa Jomblang

Jomblang Cave

Goa Kalisuci - Goa Jomblang

Jomblang Cave is a vertical cave characteristics which diametrically 50 m wide with vertical sides varies between 60-80 meters. Because getting enough sunlight, at the bottom some trees grow exuberantly like an underground forest and on karst wall grow shrubs.

When we reach the bottom of the cave, we can take a rest for a while in a cubicle from natural phenomenon. After sort resting, explorers can continue the journey by tracing the tunnel that connects the Cave Jomblang with other vertical cave named Grubug. The tunnel is quite wide with a length of about 500 m. Is not difficult to pass the tunnel because there is a stone passageway. The both of cave is a cave that type of combination of vertical and horizontal cave.

If we can reach the bottom of Grubug at 01.00pm, the views of the sun through the eternal darkness at the bottom of the Cave Grubug would be so amazing. The ray has touched a number of stalactites and stalagmites formed by dripping water over thousands of years. Sunlight broke into the mouth of Grubug cave and one large stalagmite cave located at the bottom. On the north side of the huge stalagmites, there is the river flow that comes from Kalisuci.

Caver

Goa Jomblang and Grubug located in Semanu district,  Gunugkidul Regency, 50 km  southeast Yogyakarta, about 10 km from Wonosari (the capital of Gunungkidul regency). We suggested To reach Jomblang cave with use private transportation vehicle or motorcycle and will take about 2 hours drive from the city of Yogyakarta. Location of the cave was in middle of field rice by the way is quite challenging with rocks along the road to the location of the cave.

Source : http://www.tourjogja.com/berita-221-goa-jomblang-caving-exploring-the-treasure-of-vertical-cave.html

Tangkuban Perahu, West Java

Tangkuban Perahu seen from Bandung

Tangkuban Perahu (or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect) is a volcanic mountain, located about 30km north of Bandung City, West Java. Tangkuban Perahu Mt looks like an inverted boat if viewed from Bandung. Tangkuban means up-turned, and Perahu means boat. This mountain shapes inspire the old-age society to make a folk tale about the origin of Tangkuban Perahu according to The Legend of Sangkuriang.

Tangkuban Perahu

Many activities you can do here, such as; hiking, camping, or just stroll through the forest and enjoy its natural beauty. It has three craters, these are: Kawah Ratu (Queen Crater), Kawah Domas (Domas Crater) and Kawah Upas (Upas Crater). Tourists can go down into the Kawah Domas that has a lot of geysers. Kawah Ratu is still active and sometimes release poisonous gases, so we can not go down into the crater. Kawah Upas, is the oldest crater, it's constantly release sulfurous gases which is destroy the surrounding vegetation.

Kawah Ratu - Queen Crater

geyser - Kawah Domas (Domas Crater)

tourists at Kawah Domas

Kawah Upas - Upas Crater

This volcano is still active. Mild eruptions occurred in 1969, when Kawah Ratu spewed ash and barrages 500 m high. In September 1992 this mountain was closed to the public for a few days because unusually high seismic activity leads volcanologist to fear a new eruption. On the mountain's northern flank is an area called Death Valley, so named for its frequent accumulation of poisonous gases.