The the recent revelation that Gunung Padang, a megalithic site in southern Cianjur, West Java, almost certainly hides a step pyramid dating back beyond the ice age, attracts a substantial amount of interest in the form of articles, books, videos and visits.
These columns are actually millions to tens of millions of years after it was formed naturally cooling lava through a process known as columnar jointing name. The site itself is well worth a visit for its haunting beauty remotely, its green surface dotted with hundreds of basalt columns, as if a giant had opened and scattered a box of dark gray matches. Fortunately, the road to the site is now well signposted and there was also seized on GPS.
I went with my daughter Gunung Padang Rianti her husband Cas, and our driver Pak Setu, driving an SUV. We planned a return trip to the exterior via Cianjur, Sukabumi via inbound. Our early morning was delayed, therefore, leaving at 9am, we arrived for lunch at the Hotel Puncak Pass about 13 hours. This is a convenient stopping point for travel, with its view southeast memorable in Cipanas and Gunung Gede looming above west area.
We continued through Cipanas, Cianjur Sindanglaya up. Here, it's time to activate your GPS - if you have one. In Cianjur, you must turn right (west) and get on the road to Sukabumi. Once you get on the Cianjur-Sukabumi road (very busy because it connects Bandung and Sukabumi) continue for about 7 km, using GPS, until you come to the village of Warungkondang (be careful to avoid a turn Cibeber front left). Just after the village, you will see an intersection with a left (south) tower and a green sign saying 'Gunung Padang. Now you're on a narrow, but well made road surface towards the hills, with the local minibus coated with an intriguing and smart money. The route is typical of rural West Java, through bamboo and teak plantations, still surfaced, but with many curves. Gunung Padang signs are visible at intersections. Then you come across something unexpected, a remote railway station, Lampegan.
De Lampegan the road winds up in the middle of the glorious tea plantations. This kind of landscape with its vast green carpet of tea will be familiar to those who know, for example, the tea plantation Malabar region south of Bandung. In good weather, it produces a stimulating sensation, as you climb to the watershed between the North and South rivers flowing in Java. Just beyond the horizon are those long deep valleys, leading to the southern coast still relatively remote.
We felt our destination was not too far away (7 km from Lampegan), we dropped down into a small pocket of a valley, then through a village. We swept up in a parking lot, with, of all things, a large digital electronic clock telling us he was 3:06:47 p.m. red numbers and four portable toilets locked in bright blue colors. Fortunately, a more conventional toilet with plenty of clean water was available. There were two guides smile and a handful of people in the village outside a row of about ten warung .
We were given a young girl guide, Pak Yusuf, impeccably dressed in black traditional clothes with blue turban Sundanese. He first introduced us to a small source of water, where swimming your face is supposed to ensure a long life. And then the bottom two entries flights of stairs. We could choose between a direct-old, 400 andesite robust steps on a very steep gradient, or another easier, but longer and more tortuous.
The choice seemed to have been done to me, and, at 72, plus a Welsh mountain goat, I found myself be cajoled, pushed and pulled by my four companions cardiovascular two more. It did not help to have Pak Yusuf regale us with stories of students who had collapsed, vomiting, tourists were taken to hospital, and military officers who missed the course. Well, of course I did, but, seriously, if you have heart disease or similar, take the longest way round.
It was well worth the climb though, to rest up between green grass and gray columns. The light was clear, through the mountains, and the playful breeze. The summit of Gunung Padang is a kind of wind watershed, and a poetry piece floated in my head, "an old man among wind areas", although my feeling could not be more opposed to the pessimism of TS Eliot [ Gerontion
site level was lower than expected and less crowded Certainly it was lateish and the site closes at 16.: 30. There were some people in the village, some workers, probably the geological team of Pak Danny Hilman, on the top (fifth) level, and a character in full traditional Sundanese threads and bling, which are presented as " Eric. "
the site of Gunung Padang
But all I wanted to do was enjoy the brightness, clarity and spirituality of the place. No matter all the chthonic forces and relics way down under my feet.
Pak Yusuf said specific arrangements of columns for devotions in the form of samadhi and prayer, which occurred continuously since the hero of the West Javanese, Prabu Siliwangi, dedicated this site early 16 e century.
musician Cas was intrigued by a hollow column which emits musical notes. It was also fascinating to see how the alignment of Gunung Padang points directly to Gunung Gede, the highest mountain in the region.
We descended through the easy steps Rianti were some selfies taken with the villagers, and we hit the road house. The route Sukabumi night was long and unpleasant, with traffic jams, road repairs and truck convoys that bring bottled water to the bottom of the mountain. We were able to speed after hitting the toll road Jagorawi south of Ciawi, arriving home at 21 o'clock.
Travel advice
- Go on a weekday , avoiding the traffic from Friday to Sunday Puncak hideous. If the weekend via Sukabumi is probably a better option.
- When traveling Sukabumi , take Cianjur road and turn right (indicated) just before Warungkondang.
- Bandung , the head of Cianjur, Sukabumi and take the road.
- If driving, is the best 4WD, SUV's OK and a sedan is not recommended.
- Many visitors rented minibus Sukabumi and Cianjur.
- now , it may be best to get an early bus as far as Bogor to catch the 7:55 train from there, avoiding the crowd Jakarta commuter train, or spend the night in Bogor.
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