Desert in Yogyakarta

Gumuk Pasir is one of famous places in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This 2 km big place is located on Pantai Parangkusumo road, Bantul, Yogyakarta. The distance from Tugu Station to this place is about 30km and it takes about 1 hour to get there. This Sand Dune (Gumuk Pasir) is made because the big wave of the seas around it crushed the stones in the seas and it became sand. Thus, the wind blew away the sand and the sand piled up in one place, which is in Gumuk Pasir. In this place, not only you can see a huge place full of sand, but also many big green trees around it. Seeing blue sky, ash sand, and many green trees is such a relaxing scene for your eyes.

Seeing the relaxing benefit from this place, of course it is a good decision to go here when you are in Yogyakarta. Not only it is not far from the station but also the admission fee for this location is very cheap. It is only Rp. 3.000,00 (in 2017). By paying that amount of money you can take endless photos there. Moreover, you can find a pretty decoration and some swings in the center of the sand to beautify your photo. Therefore, this place sometimes is used by people to take pre-wedding photos.

 Since Gumuk Pasir is a place full of sand, people sometimes do another thing beside taking photos. They usually do sandboarding. Sandboarding is a sport where you ride a board on the sand. It is a combination between surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. You can do sandboarding because the piled up sands are about 5-15m high. In order to do this you can rent a board there for about Rp. 70.000,00 rupiah for as long as you want in that day. Moreover, there is a guide who can help people who never do the sandboarding before. So it is absolutely safe to try.

I really recommend you to come to this place to enjoy the beauty of the nature and try new thing with cheap price or you might find new friends. Travel more, Live more. (sprp)

THE BEAUTY IN CIBEUREUM WATERFALL

 

            Cibeureum waterfall is located in Cibodas, in Mount Gede-Pangrango National Park, West Java, Indonesia. The Cibeureum Waterfall is about 2.8 km from Cibodas gate, located on 1.625 masl (meters above sea level), and has 50 m high. The word Cibeureum refers to “red water”. Ci means water and beureum means red. The red color comes from the climbing wall that overgrown by red moss (Sphagnum gedeanum). When the red moss hit by sunshine, the water will look red. The myth said that there was a hermit who was meditating. But, his time for meditating was too long and he was too diligent so that he transformed into a stone. People say that the stone in the center of Cibeureum waterfall is an embodiment of the hermit.

The distance from Cibodas gate to Cibeureum waterfall is about 2.8 km and we can only go there on foot for about one hour. After entering Mount Gede-Pangrango National Park gate, we can find the post that selling the tickets for only 3000 rupiah. Then, we have to climb the stairs up which are made from natural rocks to reach the waterfall. It’s tiring to climb up but, the weather is cold, so you will never have a sweat in your body during the journey. After walking for about 1.5 km, we can find a small deep lake which is named Talaga Biru (Blue Lake), located on 1.575 masl at about five hectares. The lake named Talaga Biru because there is full of blue algae so if the sun shines the lake, it will turn blue. But, the lake is not always blue because it depends on the algae growth cycle. It’s like we’re back to nature. We can find a lot of trees beside us and sometimes we can find a big stone that can be used for taking a rest.

Five kilometers from the Talaga Biru, we will find a wood bridge. This bridge is on Gayonggong swamp. This is the area where the Java Leopards (Panthera pardus) live. Although there is a hollow wood in the bridge, but it is still safe to be passed. In this area you can walk slowly to relax your foot after walked through the stone track. There is a rest area which can be used for taking a rest or just taking pictures in this bridge. After passing the bridge, there will be a hundred of stone stairs with Cibeureum Waterfall waiting at the end of the road. We can see a signpost that called Panyancangan Kuda. Panyancangan Kuda located on 1628 masl, there is rest area with a roof. In this location there’s an intersection and when we arrived here, it means 15 minutes later we will reach the Cibeureum Waterfall.

Finally, we reach the destination. From here, you should walk around the waterfall with barefoot because it’s very slippery. People usually approach the waterfall, sit on the stone, and let the water fall on their body. The water is cold, but it’s so refreshing.  Don’t worry if you feel tired because there is a rest area that we can use to take a rest, have a lunch, or just take pictures. There is also a toilet but unfortunately the toilet is not in a good condition. If you feel bored with this waterfall don’t worry because this area still has two other waterfalls. On the right side there is Cidendeng waterfall, this waterfall is taller, but slimmer than Cibeureum waterfall. And on the rightmost of Cibeureum waterfall there is Cikundul waterfall, this is the higher and hidden position.

I recommend you to go to this place, because Cibeureum waterfall makes you realize how big and unique is our world, how beautiful the nature that God has created for us. And come to this area make you can forget your problems for a while and thank God for this amazing thing. You’ll never forget about this journey.

Sources: http://icbb.or.id/?p=89

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curug_Cibeureum