Mount Tangkuban Perahu - Just Menong

It seems that no one knows Mount Tangkuban Perahu, a mountain that is attached to the legend of the famous archipelago, Sangkuriang. This upturned boat-shaped mountain can be seen directly from the city of Bandung by Menong's friends.

Eruption

Mount Tangkuban Perahu is a fragment of Mount Sunda that erupted approximately 200,000 years ago. The result of the eruption formed lava that emerged from the base of the caldera after the eruption of Mount Sunda. The lava forms a new volcano, but the new volcano is erupting so that the top is cut to form two craters on the mountainside side by side.

The phenomenon of the shape of the inverted boat, as in the Sangkuriang legend, will only be seen from the direction of the city of Bandung alone. Menong's friend will not be able to see the shape of 'mangun' from the direction of Subang, Purwakarta, or Sumedang.

Mount Tangkuban Perahu is located at an altitude of 2,084 mdpl and has 9 active craters, but there are only 4 craters that are often tourist destinations because of their beauty: Kawah Domas, Kawah Upas, and Kawah Baru.

The eruption of Mount Tangkuban Perahu was recorded in 1829. Currently, Mount Tangkuban Perahu is still an active volcano that often experiences eruptions. The eruption that often occurs is a phreatic eruption or an eruption that occurs when the magma heats groundwater or surface water to boil and provide high pressure.

Do not imagine this eruption like a large-strength eruption, but this eruption caused a sudden explosion but did not produce lava. Still, this phreatic eruption is dangerous for the surrounding community.

When we visited Mount Tangkuban Perahu in 2022, traders around the crater also recounted the phreatic eruption that occurred in July 2019. The eruption above the peak of the Queen crater caused smoke mixed with volcanic ash that suddenly soared as high as 200 meters and no doubt made the panic of traders and visitors that afternoon.

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The Mount Tangkuban Perahu area was closed for 4 days; again, Mount Tangkuban Perahu released its energy in August 2019 and made the area closed for a radius of 1.5 km from the center of the crater.

This eruption caused a loss of material caused by volcanic ash. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) observes the activities of Mount Tangkuban Perahu at any time.

Route  

Tangkuban Perahu is located in the area of Taman Wisata Alam, covering an area of 344.92 ha of protected forests that are now widely managed by private parties. Among friends, one can choose a variety of activities, either 'serious' activities such as camping or hiking, outbound activities, or just enjoying culinary as a form of 'healing' in the cold air.

Access to Tangkuban Perahu can be reached through two routes, namely 11 km from Subang Regency (passing Ciater) or West Bandung Regency (Parongpong-Lembang) or 20 km from the direction of Bandung City (passing Ledeng-Lembang).

Among friends who use a bus or private vehicle, either a car or motorbike, do not need to worry about a smooth paved road. The thing to watch out for is a winding road with a lot of sharp bends, especially when it rains or fog falls.

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Unfortunately, public transportation access is dominated by elves, old-model public vehicles from Subang Terminal and Ledeng Terminal, Bandung, or village transportation in the Lembang area. Likewise, online transportation costs a lot of money. Not to mention traffic jams that often occur on weekends or long holidays.

Ticket Prices

Mount Tangkuban Perahu is open to the public every day from 08.00 to 17.00 WIB. The price of admission to the area of Taman Wisata Alam (TWA) Tangkuban Perahu is distinguished for ordinary days (weekdays) or weekends (weekends) and local or foreign tourists.

Weekdays:

Entrance ticket: Rs. 20,000 (local tourists) and Rp. 30,000 (external tourists), car Rp. 25,000/unit, motorcycle Rp. 12,000/unit, bus wheel 6 Rp. 110,000/unit, shuttle Rp. 10,000/person, car parking Rp. 5,000, motorcycle parking Rp. 3,000, and bus parking Rp. 10,000.

Weekend:

Entrance ticket: Rs. 30,000 (local tourists) and Rp. 300,000 (external tourists), car Rp. 30,000/unit, motorcycle Rp. 14,500/unit, bus wheel 6 Rp. 125,000/unit, car parking Rp. 5,000, motorcycle parking Rp. 3,500, and bus parking Rp. 10,000.

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Facilities

Mount Tangkuban Perahu seems the only volcano that is easy to reach. When getting off the vehicle, Menong's friends only need to walk a few meters to reach the nearest crater as well as the largest crater, namely Kawah Ratu.

Menong friends can enjoy the beautiful crater caldera that is fenced with wood to keep visitors from passing in. Menong's friends can climb to the viewing tower to see the crater from a height.

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Menong's friends can buy souvenirs or snacks in the stall area that is lined up neatly. Some photographer gift vendors offer directly, even willing to help Menong's friends take photos with a fairly Instagrammable camera.

Other facilities in the crater area include mosques, large numbers of toilets, cultural stages, health posts, and multipurpose halls.

Because it's only a short time, we're just having cilok snacks and baso tofu near the crater. If you are lucky, Menong's friends can sit sweetly on the benches available on the edge of the crater.

Zauji and I separated ourselves from the group, tracing the rocky streets that were flanked by the convening shop. Eve felt a piercing, but I insisted on not wearing a jacket because I wanted to enjoy the cold natural air of Mount Tangkuban Perahu. She stroked my face.

On the way home, we passed through the crater gate of Domas, which provides a massage of sulfur mud legs such as in the Kawah Rengganis crater and Ciwidey and lush pine forests. This area is still inhabited by various types of fauna, such as lutung, surili, wild boar, pangolins, and leopards.