Dieng Plateau
As you enter the entrance
gate of the Plateau, the first sight you will have is the complex
of five Hindu Temples standing in the distance.  These
temples are recognized as the oldest temples in Java and were
built in the late 8th and early 9th century. The temples are named
after figures from the Mahabharata story, such as BImo, Arjuna,
Puntadewa, Sembodro, and Srikandi.
The name ”Dieng Plateau”
derives from Sanskrit. It is a compound of the words Ardi &
Hyang. Ardi means mountain and Hyang refers to the Hindu heaven;
in other word, Dieng is a mountain where gods and goddesses reside.
But local people interpret the name Dieng to also represent a
compound of the Javanese words Adi and Aeng: Adi means beautiful
and Aeng means Amazing.
 The
Dieng Plateau is beautiful and amazing place to visit. The
Sikidang crater is one of the natural wonders of the plateau.
It is a volcanic crater, and resembles a round bowl. The crater
contains boiling hot water with bubbling mud, white smoke and
sulphurous fumes that sting your nose with the horrid smell.
Another crater with
hot water springs and billowing whitish smoke is Kawah Sileri,
lying about 5 kms away from Dieng village.
 The
Telaga Warna (Coloured Lake) is a lake with turquoise hues, caused
by the bubbling of sulphur and other mineral substances radiating
around the lake. A trail that leads anti-clockwise around the
lake takes you to an adjoining cave, a renowned meditation spot.
The cave itself is empty and pitch black. The entrance is
marked by a huge rock said to resemble the clown-god, Semar.
The other crater lake
is Telaga Merdada which is about 4 kms from Dieng Village. It
is a large lake with an agricultural development center for mushroom
cultivation.
 After
visiting Dieng, you should go to one of
the less well known tourist attractions of Java, which might be
the Ambarawa Railway Museum, in the small town of Ambarawa,
about 50 kilometres south of the Central Java capital city of
Semarang and about 40km from Dieng.
|
Tour
highlights:
|
| Dieng
plateau |
|
(October
2001; 31. March 2002)
One
of the most beautiful trips from Yogya leads up to the Dieng
Plateau, about 150km north-east of Yogya. The plateau lies
right on the border between the regencies of Wonosobo and
Banjarnegara, it is located 2,093 meters above sea level
and has as average temperature of 15 C.
So,
be prepared that this can become one of your freezing motorcycle
experiences in Java.
|
| Yogya
to Wonosobo |
|
The
easiest access to Dieng is from Wonosobo, 26 kilometers
away. I suggest to split this trip, starting in Yogya and
staying overnight in Wonosobo. A nice place with hot showers
is the Kreshna Hotel.
To
go up to Wonosobo, leave Yogya turning straight west and
then drive right across the mountain ridge that pops up
in front of you. The road surface will turn quite bad, as
soon as you leave the Yogya regency. This takes a bit of
fun out of what would otherwise be a series of nice twisty
turns with no traffic. A faster alternative is to take the
southern main road via Wates, which avoids the mountains.
On our second tour we tried another nice route, driving
first to Borobudur, and then using back roads up to Wonosobo.
|
| Wonosobo
to Dieng |
|
Start
early in the morning in Wonosobo to enjoy the final 26km
up to the Dieng plateau in clear weather. Good, twisty serpentines
lead up all the way, with beautiful views of the mountains
and the villages along the way.
The
farmers in this area show incredible skills in using the
last squaremeter of avaolable soil to plant vegetables.
Use
your standard travel guide to explore the magic sites of
the Dieng plateau. There are many guesthouses to stay overnight,
if you want to take your time.
|
| Out
of Dieng |
| If
you don't go all the way west, you have to leave Dieng plateau
on the same way you got in. Go back to Wonosobo, then take
the nice ride to Salatiga and Solo, which leads you along
the mountains on well maintained roads. |
| Ambarawa
and Salatiga |
|
Stop
at the Ambarawa Railway Museum, it's definitely worth a
visit. You can check out the links section for more information.
Salatiga
is a university city, which was famous during Soeharto times
for its critical lecturers and students. Of course, one
uf the usual dickheads has taken over control as director,
and the most famous lecturer, Arif Budiman, was forced into
exile in Australia.
Today,
Salatiga University is about as interesting as a yearly
Golkar Congress. Stop for a nasi goreng in one of the coffee-shops
and talk to students, then take off for Solo.
|
| Salatiga
to Solo |
| A
main road leads from Salatiga and Solo, so expect lots of
traffic. It's still a good ride |
|
