Ciater
The views are picturesque all around and are always green with tea plantation climbing over the hills.
Ciater Hot Springs resort provides accomodation grouped around hot springs, pools, tennis courts, restaurants, a park and playground and physiotheraphy clinic. The hot springs water here derives from Domas crater and is good for skin medicating cure and rheumatism.
According to the analysis, the water contains of Na 50 mg/l, K 27 mg/l, H 712 mg/l, Ca 94 mg/l, SO4 280 mg/l, Cl 524 mg/l, Fe 20 mg/l, Mn 97 mg/l etc.
Entering the resort, you pay admission fee. The main pools virtually take your breath away. The hot creek nearby is good for dagling your feet and is standing under the streaming waterfall. A bit farther down is the open park with more waterfalls, horseback riding and picnicking spot. The resort has reasonable rooms and bungalows. Reservation to its office in Bandung, Jl. Taman Sari 72 (phone and fax : +62 22 2503188)
Bandung (pronounced bandun) Indonesian: Kota Bandung) is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia , and the country's fourth largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area, with 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 m (2,520 ft) above sea level, Bandung has relatively year-around cooler temperature than most other Indonesian cities . The city lies on a river basin and surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides the city with a good natural defense system, which was the primary reason of Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the colony capital from Batavia to Bandung.
It has an area of 167.27 km² and 2,290,464 people in 2005, with a density of 13,693 people/km². For the Hasil Survey Sosial Ekonomi Daerah 2007, 2,364,312 was the population, making it the fourth most populous city in Indonesia, after Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan.
The Dutch colonials first opened tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, followed by a road construction connecting the plantation area to the capital (180 km or 112 miles to the northwest). The European inhabitants of the city demanded the establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906 and Bandung gradually developed itself into a resort city for the plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened of which the city was dubbed asParijs van Java (Dutch: "The Paris of Java").
After Indonesia independence on 1945 onwards, the city experienced a rapid development and urbanization that has transformed Bandung from idyllic town into a dense 15,000 people/km² metropolitan area, a living space for over 2 million people. Natural resources have been exploited excessively, particularly in the conversions of protected upland area into highland villa and real estates. Although the city has encountered many problems (ranging from waste disposal, floods to chaotic traffic system, etc), Bandung however still has its charm to attract people flocking into the city, either as weekend travellers or living in.
Tangkuban Perahu
Tangkuban perahu is a volcano, 25 kilometers north of Bandung direction of Lembang. Its location is in between Sagalaherang village, Sagalaherang district, Subang regency and Cikole village, Lembang district, Bandung regency. This is Bandung's most famous tourist volcano just 28 km north of the city. This volcano offers many places to see and explore. Whether we look into the huge crater or hike down into it, stroll through the forest on its slopes, or simply enjoy the splendid panoramic scenery. Mt. Tangkuban Perahu is an interesting destination that everyone in the Bandung area is fond of visiting. When seen from Bandung, Mt. Tangkuban Perahu has a distinctive shape, like an upside down boat. Tangkuban Perahu means, in fact, "up-turned boat" This peculiar shape has stimulated the fantasy of the Sundanese people from early times as expressed in the Legend of Sangkuriang. Geologically, Mt. Tangkuban Perahu has played a significant role in the development of Parahyangan highlands. Eruptions have contributed immensely to the hills north of Bandung through lava flowing into the valleys and hardening into rock, thus forming big cliffs over which waterfalls leap. Likewise, mud flows have formed a semi-circular cone of gentle gradient (what geologists call "a fan"), which is now a mass that blocked the valley of the ancient Citarum River near present day in Padalarang (some 18 km west of Bandung), this caused a lake to form covering the whole Bandung plain.
Tangkuban Perahu is a volcano with three craters into which areas tourists can walk through. These three craters are: Kawah Ratu ("Queen Crater"), Kawah Domas ("Domas Crater"), and Kawah Upas ("Upas Crater"). Tourists can go down into the Domas Crater where exist many hot geysers in which they can boil eggs. Though the mountain appears peaceful, mild eruptions occurred in 1969, when Kawah Ratu spewed ash and barrages 500 m high. As recently as September 1992 it was closed to the public for a few days because unusually high seismic activity leads volcanologist to fear a new eruption. On the mountain's northern flank is an area called Death Valley, so named for its frequent accumulation of poisonous gases. On a reasonably clear day, from Kawah Ratu, the main crater, we can see not only the mountain range to the east, with Mt. Bukittunggul as its highest peak (2,209 m), but also two other in a northeasterly direction. The lower and nearer one is Mt. Tampomas (1,684 m) just north of Sumedang some 40 km away. To the right and about 90 km away is Mt. Ciremai close to Cirebon on the north coast. At 3,078 m, Mt. Ciremai is West Java's tallest mountain. At the foot of Mt. Tangkuban Perahu we see the Ciater tea plantation covering the rolling hills. Farther to the left are the northern coastal plains of Java, and on an extremely clear day we may even be able to see the Java Sea beyond.
Kawah Ratu, which means "Queen's Crater", is today just a big gray hole, which sometimes has a pool of water at its center. Poisonous gases sometimes accumulate in Kawah Ratu, thus making it somewhat of a risk to descend to the crater floor. Beyond the saddled shaped depression on the far side of Kawah Ratu is the still active Kawah Upas, the oldest crater on the mountain. On the very far western cliff we see a spot where all vegetation has been destroyed by constantly rising sulfurous vapors. On the crater walls, note the various layers of material consisting of rock, sand, and pebbles. Overtime, new craters have formed again and again in a rather consistent shift from west to east. The most well known of these is the Domas crater, but also there are other smaller ones in jungle on the mountain's northeastern flank. Facilities in Tangkuban Perahu Crater are comfortable parking area, souvenir kiosks, and restaurants.
