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11 Amazing Sights You Must Visit When In Bandung

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Umi A •  Feb 21, 2017

Commonly known as the ‘Paris’ of Indonesia, Bandung offers the best sights of both man-made and natural beauty. The third largest Indonesian city is nestled between three volcanic mountains, making the temperature cooler than the rest of Indonesia. Talk about a cool escape!

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Stunning Geological Sights

1. Kawah Putih (White Lake)

The white crater has a one of its kind, otherworldly view of a sulphuric crater lake. Don’t worry, it’s safe to roam around the lake! The lake lies at least 2,000 metres above sea level, meaning that you can literally and figuratively chill at this cool spot.

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Located two hours from the city, the beauty of the lake and landscape is surreal. Expect to see the lake changing colours, which ranges from hues of whitish green, blue to brown! It changes according to the acidity concentration of the surroundings.

2. Tangkuban Perahu Mountain

Tangkuban Perahu is the only active volcano that you can explore even up to its crater in Indonesia! Strong white steaming smoke from the sulfur will greet you at the crater. There’s not only one crater, but three! It is definitely worth the visit from the sheer awe of the view from the top.

Credit: Remon Rijper on Flickr

Credit: Mindy McAdams on Flickr

The mountain resembles a shape of an overturned boat. Have you heard of its unique legend? There was once a young man who fell in love with his own mother. His mother challenged him to build a gigantic boat in one night, but turned mad when he failed to complete the task, kicking the boat upside down!

#HHWT Tip: It is about a 2 hour ride from Bandung, so you definitely have to get a ride to the location.

3. Ciater Hot Spring

Ciater Hot Spring is a park with small pools in which we can sit or swim in. These warm mineral springs are created by the heat from Tangkuban Perahu Mountain, which is about 30 minutes from the crater. Swimming in the warm sulphurous water pools are effective in healing skin ailments and rheumatism. How wonderful!

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Credit: Andrew on Flickr

Ciater is a pretty place in the middle of a huge tea estate. As you walk in to locate the hot springs, you can also enjoy the scenery of greenish tea gardens, which is a good starting point for hiking too.

4. Cimahi Waterfall

A beautiful hidden waterfall which is actually located right beside the highway, it is the highest waterfall in Bandung at 87m. It is also the first to have coloured lights integrated to attract tourists to the place even after dark!

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5. Stone Garden Citatah

This is a historic site where ancient human remains were actually found! Nearer to the peak of the mountain, you will see an array of calcium-rich rocks, providing you a rocking great shot with the spectacular background. Moreover, you can even find seashells stuck on the rock! Who would ever expect that?

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Greenery

6. Dusun Bambu (Bamboo Village)

Imagine gigantic bamboo structures at the main gate with a super fancy floral-themed shuttle to welcome you to this park. You will see plenty of greenery accompanied by unique bamboo walking paths.

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This leisure park even has padi fields, flower fields, bamboo forests, and a stunning emerald lake! No pandas for you though :p

7. Situ Patenggang (Patenggang Lake)

Located at an altitude of 1,600 metres above sea level surrounded by tea plantations, it boasts an exotic landscape that is slightly different from the famous Kawah Putih. It is a popular spot to enjoy nature while having a picnic, relaxing in the lakeside or even go on boat tours!

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Credit: Silvain de Munck on Flickr

8. Taman Hutan Raya Juanda (Juanda Forest Park)

Go on a short stroll at this conservation area for a splash of more greenery! Honestly, I can never be sick of seeing nature at its natural state. So exploring the 2,500 species of fauna is definitely eventful.

Credit: Ikhlasul Amal on Flickr

If the name is too long for you, many locals call it ‘TaHuRa’ for short.

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For the instgrammers, Tebing Keraton is a must-go in this park! It is a cliff with a stunning view of the pine trees at your feet.

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#HHWT Tip: The forest park is also connected to the Taman Wisata Maribaya (Maribaya Tourism Park), which offers different but equally interesting sights to see.

9. Ranca Upas Adventure, Ciwidey

For more wildlife, you can also visit the Deer Conservation Park and Camping Ground at Ranca Upas nearby! This is really near to Kawah Putih, so you can visit all these in one day.

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Credit: AFW Photography on Flickr

To top it off, there is also an outdoor adventure park, water rides..and a tree house?! Oh deer. What if you never want to leave this amazing place? Well, there are actually camping equipment that’s available for rent nearby! Hehe, wondeerful ;)

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Architectural Classics

10. Villa Isola (Also known as Bumi Siliwangi)

Built for a Dutch media tycoon, Villa Isola is an architectural sight to behold. Explore this four-storey art-deco villa that was transformed into a hotel with a view. It’s mesmerising panaroma of the city definitely can’t be missed on this trip.

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Fun fact: It is now the administration office of the University of Education Indonesia!

11. Gedung Sate

If you think the top of the building looks like satay, a traditional Indonesian food, you are not alone! Built and used by the Dutch companies (yes, we are still in Indonesia!), the building is literally called satay building. Both elements of eastern and western architecture were effortlessly blended into this building. It is currently being used as the West Java governor’s office.

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There are also a few buildings in that area with the similar forms of architecture. Check out the Geology Museum too!

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It seems that Bandung’s landscapes are as sweet as your Bandung drink ;) Let us know what other cool sights that you can spot in Bandung in the comments below!