Dieng

Photos: Sunrise at Dieng Plateau

This weekend I went with Annie to the Dieng Plateau in Central Java – a 3 hour mini bus ride to Wonosobo via Magelang then a 1 hour public bus up the mountains to Dieng. The bus to Dieng was very scenic – terraces of cabbages and potatoes, mist, clouds, small villages clinging to the side of the hill…and it was cold!
On Saturday we got up at 3am to climb up a mountain to watch the sunrise with some other ACICIS girls that were also in Dieng. We set out in the dark (and freezing cold) along a pitch black road and then dirt track through the cabbage patches with only 2 torches between the 7 of us. As dawn started to break we passed through the highest village in Java (Sembungan – 2300m above sea level). A couple of hours after setting off we finally made it to the top of the mountain, just in time for sunrise. The view was amazing – although there were low lying clouds, the surrounding mountains poked through and we could see all the way back to the smoking peak of Gunung Merapi near Yoyga.
After watching the sunrise we had planned to go and visit a waterfall, but after walking for half an hour down an incredibly steep hill and still only being able to see it in the far distance we gave up! Not wanting to make the long, painful trip back up the mountain side, we paid a farmer to drive us back – we all jumped in the back of his ute in true Indonesian style!
Later that day we went to the bubbling (smelly) sulfur crater, a few of the oldest Hindu temples in Java (8-9^th century) and the coloured lake. The lake was a strange cloudy turquoise hue, coloured by sulfur deposits – the best view was from on top (another) hill. We also went for a wander through the village, which was lots of fun. The roads were narrow and blissfully devoid of traffic - little kids and animals (chickens, cats, goats…) roamed the streets instead. I think I must have said ‘selamat sore’ enough times to last the rest of the month – everyone was excited to see the tourists walking past their house!