Bandung is the capital of Java Barat province of West Java in Indonesia. It is well known for its fashion and wide varieties of flowers, trees and parks. Café and boutiques are spread throughout its street.

The climate of Bandung is very pleasant throughout the year. This city is situated at an elevation of 768 meters above sea level due to which it enjoys an average temperature of 23.6 degree Celsius throughout the year. Hence, it makes for a perfect getaway any time of the year. It is also a popular weekend destination for people from Jakarta to escape the bustle of the city and to enjoy the cool climate in Bandung. This inevitably leads to massive congestion on the expressways as everyone flocks to Bandung.

Due to the large proportion of time stuck in horrible traffic jams, we could only explore two main places around Bandung. The first was a day trip to Papandayan and the second to the more touristy Kawah Putih.

Mount Papandayan is a complex stratovolcano, located in Garut Regency, to the southeast of Bandung. At the summit, there are four large craters which contain active fumarole fields. An eruption in 1772 caused the northeast flank to collapse producing a catastrophic debris avalanche that destroyed 40 villages and killed nearly 3,000 people. The eruption truncated the volcano into a broad shape with two peaks and a flat area with Alun-Alun crater in the middle, making the mountain appear as a twin volcano; one of the peaks is called Papandayan and the other Mount Puntang. Most people come here to admire the edelweiss fields (yes, who would have thought edelweiss grows in Indonesia) and to camp in the mountains for 2 3D2N hiking trip. You would pass the active rim crater, Pondok Salada, before reaching the summit of Mount Papandayan. Since we only had a day or much less due to unnecessary time spent battling the traffic, we could only take a walk to see the crater. There were sulphur fumes everywhere and the landscape was as bleak as the moon’s surface. I enjoyed the place as it was very rugged and not overcrowded with tourists.

How to get to Papandayan
Take a gojek to Cileunyi, then a primajasa bus from Cileunyi terminal to Garut. (this is the fastest option to avoid the jam in Bandung)

Or: take a bus from Cicaheum terminal or Leuwi panjang terminal direct to Garut. From Garut, take an angkut that goes to Papandayan. Check with the locals the direction of the angkot before boarding.

For the well-trodden tourist path, head over to Kawah Putih, which means white crater in Indonesian. The crater itself is part of Mount Patuha and forms a large lake with an island in the centre which you can visit by boat. The shore of the lake makes an excellent place to camp as you’ll get to wake to a sunrise over the bright coloured waters. Again, it was raining when we visited and we were bombarded by touts selling the gamut from umbrellas to photos of the lake. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience. However, we walked further in around the lake and reached a place where we could get a nice panoramic view of the lake without the crowds. The trees looked so sullen, due to the sulphur which destroyed their leaves, so they became barren.

How to get to Kawah Putih
From Leuwi Panjang terminal, take a minivan to Ciwidey. It will only depart when full. From Ciwidey terminal, take a yellow angkot that goes towards Kawah Putih. The driver will try to sell you other destinations such as Patenggang for the tea plantation and the lake.

At Situ Patenggang, the lake is not huge or spectacular, so we chose to skip that. You can also visit Rancabali for the tea plantations, surrounded by the lush greenery. At Ciwidey, there are several strawberry farms and shops selling such fresh produce. The strawberries didn’t look too red nor sweet, so we did not bother buying them.