Punthuk Setumbu — Attraction in Java

Visiting this place accidentally after the locals deceived us that this place is the location of Gereja Ayam (a.k.a Bukit Rhema House of Prayer).. Not only the locals but the staff here also deceived us that Gereja Ayam is closed during the time I visited but it turned out it's not.. (If the staff here deceived us then it's understandable, but by the locals I mean the hotel reception in a 5 star hotel and the horse carriage rider hired by the hotel, like they're all on the same team to mislead tourist to visit this place) Their attitude is very disturbing..

A lot of reviews give credits to the locals for their friendliness but in my POV their fake nice attitude is just to rip off the tourist.. The locals I met here were deliberately misleading information.. Even Google is still more dependable than them..

Not only that, because of their lies they also wasted my limited time in Magelang till we need to squeeze time to visit Gereja Ayam, ruining otherwise a perfectly fine vacation plan..

And if you've been to similar places in East Java like me, there's nothing special about this place. They have better sunrise/sunset view with much more photo spot. Yes, this is a trekking place but nothing more..

After visiting both, Gereja Ayam is a much more iconic place to visit, worth our time & very good value for the price.. Not checking with google is a mistake I will never repeat again.. Thank you...

at Punthuk Setumbu, you pay less than borobudur but the foriengners still need to pay double fare than locals and clim more steps than Borobudur and finally you get a view of Borobudur just a tiny dot like a sasme. For the photo people who want to shoot Borobudur as the object , you must use more than 500 mm lens for a ok size object. I may not go there if I knew the view just like that. Even locals, you need to pay IDR 20000 to enter and you only need to pay much lower fare than us to get inside of the authentic Borobudur Temple. So why don't you just go to Borobudur where the view for the surrounded landscape is also good. For the discrimination of the multiple time foreigner ticket fee , it is your choice. Because you and me may have a though that we have already paid a lot to come here, no need care such money, reluctantly accept the discriminate fare even we feel uncomfortable. and just because this kind of though like us, so they and more and more places use this rule and they are happy do the different...

While this spot is often highly praised as a prime location for a sunrise tour, I personally found it a bit overhyped. Certainly, it offers beautiful views of a mountain sunrise, but it's not notably unique compared to other similar locations. Unfortunately, Borobudur cannot be seen clearly from this point unless one uses a drone, which can be disruptive to other visitors.

Moreover, this area gets incredibly crowded, especially since the Manohara Sunrise Tour has been discontinued, leaving tourists with fewer options for early morning excursions. Consequently, everyone flocks here, making it quite congested.

Interestingly, I stumbled upon a much better spot to watch the sunrise from amidst a nearby rice field, which was far less crowded. In conclusion, while this spot is undoubtedly popular, missing out on it won't significantly detract from your experience. As a matter of fact, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Manohara Sunrise Tour several years ago, and in my opinion, that was a far...