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Indonesian Wonder (604)
February
North Sulawesi has 3 lakes which become major tourism destinations. One of them is Moat Lake which is located in East Bolaang Mongondow regency. It’s is volcanic lake which is in natural preservation area of Mt. Ambang at altitude 1,100 meters above the sea level.
To get to the lake, you can go from Manado through Trans Sulawesi to Gorontalo until arriving at Kotamubagu City. The trip from Manado to Kotamobagu City takes around 3-4 hours by car.
There is no public transportation. So, it is better for you to rent a car from Manado. The name of the lake from Mongondow language is Mo'oat which means "land that appears on the middle of the water".
When you are at Moat Lake, you will be welcomed by fresh air with beautiful panorama and it spoils your eyes and makes you be amazed on the beauty of Moat Lake.
The clear water of the lake which is combined with natural scenery at surrounding the lake, will make you relaxed. You can catch fresh fish here, such as golden fish. The lake is also the habitat for Sidat Sogili fish which is a rare fish.
There is a small island on the middle of the lake which can be reached by rental boat. To enjoy the view of the lake can be from stage’s house and hut at surrounding the lake. If you love wild atmosphere, you can set a tent at the edge of the lake.
February
North Sulawesi is famous with its beautiful tourism in Manado or Bunaken. In addition, it is also known with its super priority destination in Likupang where a lot of tourists are interested in visiting it. The destination is exactly in North Minahasa, North Sulawesi. Now, the Likupang Special Economic Zone (KEK) is being built. There are many reasons for us to visit Likupang. The destination in Likupang is as beautiful as many other popular tourism destinations in North Sulawesi. One of them is Lihaga Island. Lihaga Island is an uninhabited island located in Likupang sub-district, North Minahasa Regency. Lihaga Island is only 8 hectares; it is not too big but it has extraordinary tourism potentials. Of course, it has been seen that this island has a beach with fine white sand, which contrasts with the blue of the ocean.
Any visitors who want to see it surely cannot wait to come down and touch this clean white sand. Lihaga Island also has an interesting underwater world. By diving or snorkeling close around the beach, you can see many fish swimming. To reach the Lihaga Island, we have to travel about 90 minutes from Manado City to Likupang (port of Serei). After arriving at Likupang, you have to continue the journey again for approximately 40 minutes by local fishing boat. Boat rental costs around Rp800, 000 for 20 passengers. Even though, this island is not populated, you don't need to worry because this island has toilets and dressing rooms. You can also stay overnight at Lihaga Island with a little cost.
In addition, if you plan to visit and stay overnight at Lihaga Island, don't forget to buy food and drinks first because Lihaga Island does not have stalls. Unfortunately, there are not many facilities in this tourism destination. But if you like adventuring, the nature of Lihaga Island is appropriate for you to explore.
January
Bima is one of the regencies in Sumbawa island, West Nusa Tenggara province. Historically, this city was the centre of the Bima Sultanate. With the cultural heritages the city has, Bima city offers Islamic cultural tourism. You can visit Asi Mbojo or the sultanate palace. Besides Asi Mbojo, you can also find the graves of kings and preachers, public games and arts, as well as religious ceremonies. Bima not only has the richness of cultures, but also its own natural tourism attractions. Due to its location on the side of the bay, Bima certainly has beautiful marine tourism. One of them is Wane beach.
Wane beach is located at Tolotangga village, Monta district, which is around 6 kilometres from Sultan Muhammad Salahudin airport. Wane beach has white sand which stretches widely, with gentle waves and clear sea water. Going to the beach, you can enjoy the freshness of water by swimming or playing on the white sand. If you want to stimulate your adrenalin, you can try surfing at the beach.
You can also see dolphins jumping among the waves at Wane beach. To see the dolphin attraction, you must rent a fisherman’s boat a day before the activity. The best time to watch the attraction is in the morning, around 9 a.m. The travel time to see the dolphin attraction is only half hour by boat. For those who did not bring their own food, do not worry because the beach has many food stalls which provide a variety of food.
January
When traveling to various places you will feel complete only after you taste the local dishes. Indonesia has various unique and delicious snacks. Take for example, Purworejo regency, Central Java, there is Lompong Cake which you must taste. Unlike other snacks in general, with packaging decorated with bright and various colours, the Lompong cake is precisely jet black. At a glance, it is not interesting, but if you try it, its taste is so chewy and sweet. The cake is called Lompong, because it is made from taro stalk. In addition to the stalk, the cake is also made of straw flour, sticky rice flour and sugar. Meanwhile, its filling is made of pounded peanut which is mixed with palm sugar. To make the snack, the sticky rice flour is firstly mixed with water, sugar, taro powder and straw powder. Then, the dough is stirred, then mixed with coconut oil, so the dough is not sticky when being steamed. Before being steamed, the dough is wrapped with dried banana leaf. Then, the dough is steamed for around 2 hours. When cooked, the Lompong cake has jet black colour. The colour is from straw flour and dried banana leaf. The cake is delicious when warm. If the cake is getting cool, its texture changes and may become a little bit hard. This cake is suitable to be eaten as breakfast. It can also be a souvenir, because it can last upto one week. If you are interested in enjoying the Lompong cake, you will find it at traditional markets in Purworejo costing around Rp. 2,000 to Rp. 35,000 per piece.
January
Jambi has many beautiful natural tourism attractions. Some of the tourism destinations that Jambi can offer are mountains, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, caves, geo-parks or various modern tourism destinations which are being developed. One of them is the Biru lake at Tanjung Alam village, Jangkat district, Merangin regency, Jambi. This lake is located at an altitude of 2033 meters above sea level and is included in the Production Forest Area which directly borders with Kerinci Seblat National Park. Tourists, who come here, can witness the beauty of nature. It has clear blue waters that allow you to see the bottom of the lake. Shady trees surrounding the lake make the air fresh.
There is a fallen tree on the middle of Biru lake which has become a bridge to a hut that was built by the local people to take rest. The existence of the fallen tree makes for an interesting picture, making the spot very Instagramable. According to local people, the lake was found accidentally by Tanjung Alam villager who was hunting for birds in the surrounding forest. The hunter told about the lake to other villagers. Then, the lake was named Biru lake by Merangin regent in 2016.
From Jambi, you can use motorcycle or car to Merangin regency. From city center of Merangin regency, namely Bangko, you should take a trip to Tanjung Alam village, Sungai Tenang district. Because location of Biru lake is at around Mt. Masurai, you could also take a trip by walking around 1-2 hours. It is advised to do this only if you have reasonable physical stamina. You are also suggested to bring enough food. The trip is more enjoyable if you come here along with your friends. From Tanjung Alam Jangkat village, it takes around 7 hours by walking but if you ride motorcycle, it only takes 3 hours.
Recently, Biru lake has been viral on social media. Local people often call it Hijau lake because its water has greenish blue colours. Another beautiful scenery is green mud on the bottom of the lake. It’s very beautiful when seen with the very unique water colour. Location of the lake is hidden in the forest, so that not many people know its existence. If you want to refresh yourself and re-energize, this lake is the right choice.
January
Malang is one of the leading tourism destinations in East Java. Nestled in the South of Java, the city has beach tourism sites extending all the way from the West to the East. Out of the many beautiful beaches that can be visited, today we are going to talk about Gatra beach. The beach is very interesting to visit because it is surrounded by forest, hills and also coral islands. Gatra Beach is located at Tambakrejo village, Sumbermanjing Wetan, Malang regency in East java province. It stretches for 73 kms and takes around 2 until 3 hours from Malang to Gatra Beach. Gatra Beach prioritizes natural conservation and cleanliness. That’s why when entering the beach, you not only buy entrance tickets but also have your bags checked by officers. The officers select the items which have the potential to produce waste. Likewise, at the exit gate if it is found that you have violated the rules, you will be fined 10,000 rupiah. The entrance ticket to Gatra Beach is Rp 10,000 per person, while for parking it is only Rp 3,000 for motorcycle and Rp 4,000 for four-wheeled vehicles. From the entry point to the beach, you have trek for about 1 to 1.5 kilometer. Along the trip, you can enjoy the sights of the mangrove conservation forest. Gatra Beach boasts white and soft sand, rocks at the middle of the sea which form small islands, calm sea water and clean beach. On the beach, you can not only play in the water or on the sand, but you can also rent a canoe to go around the beach. For those who want to go camping, the managers provide tents which can be rented for Rp 25,000 per unit. Moreover, Gatra beach also offers many spots for taking the perfect selfie. So do not miss out. On the beach area, there are no shops or stalls; this is to keep its commitment to cleanliness and sustainability of the beach.
January
Ketupat or Kupat is an Indonesian typical food which is made of rice and wrapped with young coconut leaf or janur. Usually this food serves in Islamic religious celebration such as Eid Al-Fitr and eaten along with side dishes. Indonesian people know various kinds of Ketupat and every region has its own characteristic. If you go to Brebes, Central Java, you will find one of variant Ketupat, namely Kupat Sableng. If you are in Brebes, I suggest you to eat this food which has savory and spicy taste. Kupat Sableng combines ketupat with coconut milk sauce and blengong satay as side dish. The satay is made of Blengong meat. Blengong is a kind of bird which is a combination of duck and itik (muscovy duck). Firstly, Blengong meat is soaked in seasoning of coconut milk and skewered by using stick. After the seasoning being permeated, the satay was roasted with charcoal. When you buy Kupat Sableng, you can determine the chili you need in accordance with your taste. The chili then entered into the sauce of ketupat. When kupat sableng being eaten, savory taste of its coconut milk which is mixed with chili, is tasted so delicious. Blengong satay with soft texture becomes complementary of the taste. If you are interested to enjoy this food, there are many stalls which sell Kupat Sableng in Brebes. Usually, this food is sold in the afternoon until evening. The price is relatively cheap, only Rp 7,000 per portion.
January
Travelling to Sumbawa Besar, the capital city of West Nusa Tenggara province, you can visit Batu Dulang tourism village. The village is located at an altitude 850 meters on sea surface with the temperature around 18 to 21 Celcius degrees. The village offers natural atmosphere which has fresh air. At the Batu Dulang village, you can see landscape of Sumbawa Besar, Moyo Island, and Mt. Tambora. Batu Dulang tourism village is located around 26 kilometers from Sumbawa Besar to the South.
To go to Batu Dulang tourism village, you can hear chirping of various species of birds along the street. There are around 25 bird species in Batu Dulang, among other punglor, sameong, pelatuk, kenenang kuning, kipas and owl bird. At this village, you can join in residents’ activities which traditionally produce Arabica and Robusta coffee. You can also visit the local Small and Medium Entreprises, namely forest products such as honey, coffee, candle nut oil and various fruits like mangosteen. In Batu Dulang, there are packages of harvest products such as packaging of honey, and coffee powder, curcuma, and candle nut which processed to be oil. This village is also a producer of a good quality honey because its forest is still very good as food resource of bee. Batu Dulang Tourism Village is the first village which applies preservation harvest of forest honey with honey drain technique by not using hands to squeeze, under the Management of Sumbawa Forest Honey Network since 2008 until nowadays.
Touring at Batu Dulang village, you can also enjoy the freshness of Tiu Dua waterfall. From the village, it is around 3 kilometers of distance to the waterfall or it takes around 5 minutes by using motorcycle and walk around 25 minutes. The waterfall has around 8 meters high. Below the waterfall, there are 2 big ponds which can be used for taking a bath and swimming. Batu Dulang village also provides some towers for selfie. At this tourism village, there are also 4 homestays with the tariff Rp75,000 per night.
January
Indonesia is a paradise of natural tourism destination. One of Indonesia’s regions, which can become your destination, is Banyuwangi. For you who have ever been there, certainly you know how beautiful Red beach and another natural panorama are. There is one place which should be visited if you are in Banyuwangi namely Songgon tourism village. Songgon is a district in Banyuwangi which is located on highland, precisely on the slope of Mt. Raung. It takes around 2 hours on foot from Banyuwangi to Songgon. But, long trip will be paid when witnessing green landscape that makes your eyes fresh. Songgon, which is geographically located at mountainous area, has many beautiful natural tourism potentials.
Songgon pine forest was officially opened for public in October 2016. The forest offers various interesting activities, such as riding horse, taking picture, or seeing scenery from tree house. Visitors only pay a ticket worth Rp 5,000. While to try other vehicles such as riding horse, hammocking, or camping will be charged again. At Songgon, we can see not only pine forest, but also Badheng river which has heavy streaming. This can stimulate your adrenalin for rafting. Badheng Songgon river is categorized safe for rafting. It takes around two hours to finish rafting line which has 25 rapids.
For you who love to spend your time silently, you can visit Rowo Bayu. The place is a lake with green water at the middle of 8-hectar pine forest on the slope of Mt. Raung. This Rowo or in English means swamp is place where 3 springs meet, namely Sendang Keputren, Sendang Wigangga, and Sendang Kamulyan located at Bayu village, Songgon district, Banyuwangi regency. The best time to visit Rowo Bayu is in December.
At Songgon, there is also beautiful waterfall, namely Temcor. Temcor is from Madura language, Temor Cora meaning Timur Jurang or in English means cliff at the East. Because, the location of the waterfall is at the East of the cliff. Trekking to the location of the waterfall takes enough energy. But, it will be paid when seeing scenery along the trip. Next destination is Bejong villa. This villa is actually not tourism object. Bejong villa is used for guesthouse at night. Because a lot of people who share photographs Bejong villa on instagram, finally the villa is opened for public. Each visitor will be charged Rp 5,000. Taking picture and enjoying the freshness of air become the main activities that can be done at the villa. The most favorite spot is at mosque. Vintage architecture of the villa with green plantation surrounding area becomes beautiful background for selfie.
January
Travelling to West Sulawesi, you have to visit Polewali Mandar regency. This regency has some interesting tourism objects. There are beautiful sea, mountain, and river with rocks. In today’s Indonesian Wonder, we will recommend you to go to Kali Biru tourism area. The tourism object which is located at Batetanga village, Binuang district, Polman regency, offers the freshness of water of the river with beautiful natural panorama. To access the location of natural tourism object is not difficult. Kali Biru tourism area can be accessed by land transportation and takes around 15 - 30 minutes from city center of Polewali Mandar. To enter this complex, you will be charged Rp 5.000 for a ticket per person.
Kali Biru tourism object offers the beauty of natural panorama with big stones at the middle of the river and also lush trees. The freshness of water makes visitors feel comfort and want to soak longer in the river. At Kali Biru tourism area, there are 4 quite big swimming pools and can be used for swimming or playing water by kids. The spring of the pool comes from the spring of surrounding mountains.
Kali Biru Tourism site has many game rides for Outbond such as Flying Fox. Some corners at the location are decorated with beautiful ornaments for photo spot. Kali Biru also provides some facilities such as parking space, mosque, food courts as well as hall which can be used for meeting or gathering.