When I think of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, I have this picture of a cosmopolitan, crowded city with outrageous traffic. Sounds unsettling? Well, it is not that scary if you know where to go and what to see though. But still, just prepare yourself for the worst traffic. Really, the place lacks lots of traffic lights and traffic discipline.
Curug Cilember (Cilember Waterfalls)
Located 65 km from Central Jakarta in Cisarua, Bogor, this is a place to go if you like waterfalls and trekking in nature. Traffic jams are horrendous, especially on weekends and holidays since it is on the way to Puncak, a very popular local tourist destination. So, go very early in the morning at about 05.00. It takes about one and a half hours from Jakarta. It is a bit hard to find, so I suggest that you have a friend who knows the way.
Entrance fee is IDR 15,000 for local tourists. IDR 60,000 for foreigners.
Curug Cilember consists of seven waterfalls, or curug. The first one is the furthest. You need a special guide and half day to trek up there and another half day to get down. The sixth curug is closed due to a dangerous path. So we can only visit the seventh (the closest), fifth, and then the fourth, third, and second waterfalls.
The myth says that the Seventh Waterfall is the bathing place of the Princesses of Siliwangi Kingdom. They believe bathing here promises eternal youth, grants a life partner, and heals various diseases.
I like Curug Three the best, maybe because there were only two other people when we were there so we had a lot of time to take pictures and enjoyed the waterfall.
There is also a Butterfly Garden inside and I heard they often have giant butterflies there. The staff at the ticket booth said they didn’t have it then when we visited in August 2016, let’s hope they are there when you visit.
If you want, you can spend the night and experience sleeping in a rented wooden hut or a tent there.
Seems like this long-tailed Macaca fascicularis is acrophobic...
Be sure to wear proper shoes and although it is cooler than the city, walking will warm you up. The meals are very simple, so you might want to bring your own lunch box.
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