Wonosari Tea Plantation About 30km north of Malang, the Wonosari Tea Plantation has sweeping views and a temperate climate; the setting is glorious. This agrotourism venture and leisure park offers everything from tea-plantation tours (40,000Rp), a minitrain and zip lines to tennis and a swimming pool. You can arrange a[…]
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Watu Ulo & Papuma Watu Ulo is popular on weekends, but like most of the beaches on Java’s south coast, it has grey sand, and crashing surf makes swimming dangerous. The real surprise lies just west around the headland from Watu Ulo at Papuma – a lovely beach with white[…]
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Bondowoso Bondowoso, suspended between the highlands of Tengger and Ijen, is one of the cleanest towns in Java. It is the home of some of the island’s best tape, a tasty, sweet-and-sour snack made from boiled vegetable roots. It’s merely a transit point for nearby attractions such as Ijen, but[…]
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Kalibaru The picturesque road from Jember to Banyuwangi winds around the foothills of Gunung Raung, through rainforest, and up to the small hill town of Kalibaru (428m). The village itself is not much to look at, but it has a benign climate and a remarkable array of excellent midrange accommodation.[…]
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Gunung Arjuna-Lalijiwo Reserve This reserve includes the dormant volcano Gunung Arjuna (3339m), the semi-active Gunung Welirang (3156m) and the Lalijiwo Plateau on the northern slopes of Arjuna. Experienced and well-equipped hikers can walk from the resort town of Tretes to Selekta in two days, but you need a guide to[…]
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Jember Jember is a large city and service centre for the surrounding coffee, cacao, rubber, cotton and tobacco plantations. It’s a relatively clean city, with a futuristic mosque (it looks like a flying saucer) by its alun-alun, but there’s no reason to linger here. If you plan to go to[…]
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Purwodadi The Kebun Raya Purwodadi are expansive dry-climate botanical gardens. The 85 hectares are beautifully landscaped and contain more than 3000 species, including 80 kinds of palm, a huge fern collection, a Mexican section, myriad orchids and many varieties of bamboo. The garden office to the south of the entrance[…]
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Gunung Penanggungan The remains of no fewer than 81 temples are scattered over the slopes of Gunung Penanggungan (1650m). This sacred Hindu mountain is said to be the peak of Mt Mahameru, which according to legend broke off and landed at its present site when Mt Mahameru was transported from[…]
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Gunung Kelud Around 30km directly north of Panataran, Gunung Kelud (1731m) is one of Java’s most active, accessible and rewarding volcanoes to visit, with a plunging crater, steaming vents and a small crater lake. Kelud is in a near-permanent state of growl – an eruption in 1919 killed 5000 people[…]
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Trowulan Trowulan was once the capital of the largest Hindu empire in Indonesian history. Founded by Singosari prince Wijaya in 1294, it reached the height of its power under Hayam Wuruk (1350–89), who was guided by his powerful prime minister, Gajah Mada. During this time Majapahit received tribute from most[…]
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