West Java (Garut-Tasikmalaya-Cirebon)

Garut

Garut is an Old Dutch hill station and a characteristic Sundanese town in the highlands, surrounded by mountains, volcanoes, and crystal clear lakes. Garut's Hindu temples and hot springs are often the destination for hikers attracted by spectacular views from the mountaintops. The choices of where to plan the next trek in the area are as varied as the sights along the way. Some like to hike across to Mount Telaga Bodas with its pale-green Crater Lake bubbling with pure sulfur. This cool place can be reached from Bandung in approximately one hour. Due to the scenic beauty of this there are many places of interest for nature lovers. The northern part of the region is reserved for the development of the city of Garut while the southern region is rich with a beautiful coastline, nature preserves and beautiful scenery. Since the time of the Dutch occupation, this region has been developed as a resting place.
The inhabitants of Garut are mostly Moslems and more than half of the people live on farming. The specific food from this place, which is very famous, is "dodol Garut", a sweet food made from sticky rice flour and sugar with various flavorings. This food is offered in different wrappings and can be store for a long time. In the past, Garut was also famous for its high quality oranges.
The hot springs resort at Cipanas has comfortable accommodations. Many people visit these laden springs, which have medicating effects to purify their skin. Mount Papandayan's crater is probably one of the most spectacular mountain scenes on Java Island. There is the Cangkuang temple situated by Cangkuang Lake, which was a major discovery of archaeological value as it was the first of its kind found in West Java, dating back to the 8th century. The site is located 17 km from Garut and 50 km from Bandung.
Garut has a specific cultural attraction, the "Ram Fight". Two strong male Ram, with big, long and strong horns are made to fight against each other in the center of a arena, usually in a field, accompanied by "Kendang Pencak" music. There are three centers for ram high performances: in the districts of Bayongbong, leles and Samarang. The participants mostly come from the surrounding place. In Garut there are a lot of interesting places to visit, some have been developed, some others are being developed and there are places, which are still left natural.

Tasikmalaya
Sixty kilometers from Garut, Tasikmalaya is known for its plaited mats, painted umbrellas and batiks of particular designs and colors. Geographically, Tasikmalaya is situated between 107° 53' to 108° 20' eastern longitudes and between 7° 3' and 7° 49' southern latitude. The population of the entire regency (the city and rural area around it) is about 1.58 million. Like most of West Java, Muslim, ethnically Sundanese people, mostly populates it with a small Indonesian Chinese minority. A quarter of Tasikmalaya Regency, which has an area of about 256,756,692 hectares, is covered by forest. This Regency may be divided into two areas, lowlands and mountainous regions.
Tasikmalaya Regency is rich in places of interests and cultural attractions. First of all, there is an interesting area called Kampung Naga. Thirty km from Tasikmalaya, visitors will find the uniqueness of Kampung Naga. The distance from Bandung to this kampong is about 88 km. The people of this Kampong still adhere to the old traditions. Their house building is unique. The uniqueness lays its uniformity, starting from the building materials, the house designs to the direction their houses are facing. Instead of its proximity to modern society, it has retained its traditional customs over the centuries. It is a small village in the beautiful mountains of the Salawu District. The most important traditional ceremony is called "Upacara Pedaran" which illustrates its age-old history and culture, held only once every year.
Places of interest in Tasikmalaya include the most attractive natural resorts. From a tourism viewpoint at least, the area has benefited from the latest eruption of Galunggung Mountain, which happened on April 5, 1982. The remains of the eruption have now become taking scenery and are worth-visiting. A lot of tourists, both foreign and domestic, have started visiting this resort. Shady trees are growing again and visitors can also enjoy the sight the crater and bathing in the spa.
Transportation is easily available, although the distance from Jakarta to Tasikmalaya is about 380 kilometers, and from Bandung about 120 kilometers. Since the road is good the distance can easily be covered by either public or private transport.
Home industries are prevalent in Tasikmalaya Regency and the tourist can of course buy the product. Home industries mean handicraft, such as pandan hat, samak hat, dudukuy cetok, hand bags, etc in another region of this regency, there is a place which is famous for plaited handicraft, called Rajapolah. Home industries here produce mats, plaited wares made from bamboo, like kitchen utensils, etc.

Cirebon

Traveling northeast from Bandung towards the coast, the seaport of Cirebon offers a wealth of culture and history. Situated on the border of West and Central Java, it is home to a combination of both cultures. Gemah Ripah Loh Jinawi means a prosperous city that has many people. Cirebon is actually located at the north coast of Java. It is located at West Java. Cirebon has a great resource of sea, especially shrimps. These shrimps are exported abroad to get so much income for city development and education. This city is almost always be passed every time any one wants to go to West Java or Jakarta from Central Java and any east cities of Java. The location of Cirebon is very strategic. In the Indojavanese time it was the most important harbor of the mighty Galuh kingdom, of which the capital was located in the fertile of Citanduy River, not too far away from Ciamis. The harbor also opened the way to the Cimanuk River, which flows through Sumedang to the lake basin of Bandung. Because the coasts of Western Java are swampy and in some places rocky Cirebon and Sunda Kelapa (Jakarta), together with Banten in the far West, the main entries to the blooming highlands.
Cirebon at 14th was a part of Padjajaran Kingdom. The Moslem movement there was so fast and Padjajaran commanded to remove the settlement to Lemahwungkuk, 5 kilometers from Cirebon harbor. In the city itself; the ancient palace (keraton) of Kasepuhan and Kanoman now serve as museums which are open to the public, exhibiting household ornaments, paintings, calligraphy and other art treasures of the courts. The royal carriages are sumptuous in design, one of them a gilded coach in the form of a winged elephant. The three well-known palaces (Kraton) of Cirebon are Pakungwati, Kesepuhan, and Kanoman. The former is the earliest of the three and has said to be occupied by Sunan Gunung Jati himself. In fact, according to the records preserved within the Kesepuhan Palace, and firmly believed by the Cirebon people, the normally accepted account of Sunan Gunung Jati's life is incorrect. Syarif Hidayatullah was, they claim, the son of an Egyptian King and a Sundanese princess. He lived until the age of 120 and died in 1568 A.D.
Across the square from the Kasepuhan Kraton is "Mesjid Agung" (Grand Mosque), in a traditional Javanese style and made entirely of wood. There is an ancient royal cemetery where a holy sultan was buried which has become a place for pilgrimage at the Astana Gunung. Jati Cirebon is also known for its distinct batik, now a flourishing industry in Trusmi village. The local seafood is among the best in West Java. Another specialty this city can offer the visitor is a wide range of seafood, probably the best in West Java.
Nowadays Cirebon is on the crossing of a busy coastal road and the main road to Bandung. The harbor, main depot for the oil from the Java Sea, is famous for it's great catches of fish and other sea animals. Cirebon means 'River of Shrimps' and the city has a nickname 'Kota Udang', 'City of the big Shrimps'; historical sources tell us that the name of the city is probably diverted from caruban, which means 'mixture' - a witness of the very heterogeneous heir of Cirebon. (Courtesy By Indonesia-Tourism)