Beautiful Ciwidey in West Java

I feel so good; finally at the end of March, on a 'long weekend' we had a change to get out of this city and had a wonderful natural adventure trip. It's a very good break after almost 3 months I didn't go out of this metropolitan. We decided not to travel a lot until our daughter's final and national exams are done, which will be by mid-May! uuphhh... But a short vacation is not harming at all, right?

This time we chose a place name Ciwidey, located south of Bandung, the capital city of West Java, to be explored with our children. It's a small town that is endowed with very beautiful sceneries, cool fresh air, fertile land and tantalizing culinary.

I'm so glad carrying my camera and took many landscape pictures and some street photos. It was a break from food photography :)
Now, let me share some pictures from our wonderful journey.

1. Patengan Lake / Situ Patengan

This is our first stop in Ciwidey area, after 4 hours journey from Jakarta.
It's about 7 km from the main town, Ciwidey and located at 1600m above sea level. Acres of green tea plantation welcoming all visitors before arrive at the lake.

There were so many visitors at that time because it was a public holiday. We enjoyed the view and the fresh cool air. The kids were so excited to ride a boat going around the lake.

Local culinary, including some tropical fruits were sold around this area.
After enjoying the legendary lake, we walked together around the tea plantation. It's a good experience for the children.



2. Around the Town
Ciwidey is a small town, that owns a combination of modern and traditional lifestyle. Modern vehicles and traditional horse-carts share the road together causing traffic jam in many corners. Modern minimarkets are easy to find in town, located side by side with local traditional shops.

Having enough fresh air after our journey visiting Patengan Lake and tea plantation, we got back to town and checked in the hotel. Later we walked from our hotel to Alun-alun (down town) area, exploring the town in the late afternoon and enjoying the nightlife there.

After the sun goes down, the town seems more alive. It's marked by local street food carts that are arrayed along the main road in Alun-alun area.




For me personally, the colorful signs that painted on the windows' cart are very attractive, stealing my attention. They're very artistic in my opinion, look good to accompany those delicious authentic food.


pic: clock wise from top; Colorful Kalua Jeruk (traditional sweet snack made from pamelo skin and sugar), the making of Sweet Martabak, Traditional Snack in the jars, the making of Savory Martabak.

We enjoyed our beautiful night, exploring the town, watching 'cooking attraction' by some of the street hawkers, and having dinner behind one of the cart.

3. Ciwidey Traditional Market
Traditional market is always on our list to visit in every new places.
On the second day, at 6am, we're ready with our jacket to visit the Ciwidey traditional market. We walked from the hotel and took less than 10 minutes. When we got there, the market was pretty quiet probably because we came too early.

It's always a nice place to visit and we never get bored to explore traditional market. There is always something unique in every market.

We found a lot of traditional ingredients, food, and cutleries that we have never seen for years. My greedy eyes were busy jumping here and there everytime I spotted something interesting. ha..ha.. You know what I mean!
I didn't need to worry, because my helpful husband would carry my shopping bags.


pic : Traditional Toast Cart


pic : Tempe/Soybean Cakes (L), A Man with Waterspinach (R)
Traditional Chicken Porridge was chosen as our breakfast. Yummy.
We left the market, back to the hotel with full tummy and happy faces... ready to countinue our adventure.


4. The Famous White Crater / Kawah Putih
This place is the main tourist destination in Ciwidey other than Patengan Lake.

This crater lake is located in Mount Patuha, in 2.434m above sea level.
What is the special of this crater? the answer is 'the colour of it'.
Kawah Putih is a sizeable highly acid lake (pH 0.5-1.3) which changes colour from bluish to whitish green, or brown, depending on the concentration of sulphur and the temperature or the oxidation state. The sand and rocks surrounding the lake have been also leached into whitish colours through interaction with the acidic lake waters (with possible mineral precipitation as well). from wikipedia

This volcanic crater offers a fantastic panoramic views.


Back from the crater, hmmm... it's about time for lunch. We looked around in the parking area where lots of small restaurants were open at the time. We chose one of them; a Sundanese Restaurant, called 'Saung Someah'.

We're so lucky, it's a good decision. We ordered Nasi Tutug Oncom (see the picture above), Nasi Liwet, and two plates of Nasi Timbel for the kids. All were served with fried chicken, fried tofu, fried tempe (soybean cake), some vegetables and sambal (traditional chilli sauce). Scrumptious sundanese food with very reasonable price. What a delicious afternoon!

The sun still high, when we left White Crater parking area. The next place we visited was 'Ranca Upas' area. Actually this place was not on our target list, just a quick decision we made.

We stop by in a deers breeding compound, and our children happily giving the carrots to the deers.

Unfortunately, after the happy activities, my daughter got a 'little accident'. She fell down on a gravel road while having sprint racing with her brother and ...me! uupss... it's not my fault, right?

pic : an abandoned railway bridge.
On the way back between Ciwidey and Bandung, we stop at an old railway bridge. Probably it was built by the Dutch back in 40s. Yes, Ciwidey was connected by a railway to Bandung once upon a time. Unfortunately the railway was shut down back in early 80s, leaving a few bridges becoming nice places for photo-hunting.

That's all, our short vacation, an escaping journey from hustle and bustle life in the metropolitan city. We arrived at home with fresh body and mind.