Mount Gede Pangrango National Park — Attraction in Java

Mount Gede Pangrango National Park is one of the protected areas in West Java which is quite famous among hikers. These two mountains side by side are indeed excellent for climbers, one of the reasons is the existence of the Surya Kencana square which is the best spot to enjoy edelweiss.

Talking about Mount Gede Pangrango, there are some interesting facts about these two mountains:

1 Mount Gede Pangrango is included in the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park area, which is one of the five national parks that was first announced in Indonesia in 1980.

2 Mount Gede Pangrango is located in three districts, namely Bogor Regency, Cianjur Regency and Sukabumi Regency.

3 The first person to climb to the top of Mount Gede is not an Indonesian, but a German citizen C.G.C. Reinwardt in April 1819. C.G.C. Reinwardt is the founder of the Bogor Botanical Gardens.

4 Mount Gede-Pangrango and its national park were designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve in 1977.

5 Mount Gede has the best spot to enjoy edelweiss, which is in Surya Kencana Square. In this spot, climbers will easily find edelweiss. Usually this area is also often used as a camping place by climbers.

6 Mount Pangrango also has one special place, namely the Mandalawangi Valley. Here, formerly a phenomenal figure of Indonesia, Soe Hok Gie often spent time. Even Soe Hok Gie also had time to write a poem entitled "Mandalawangi - Pangrango", and until now this poem is very popular among climbers.

7 Although often considered as one, Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango are actually separate and have different heights. Mount Gede is 2,958 m above sea level and Mount Pangrango is 3,019 m above sea level. The two peaks are connected by a saddle-like ridge at an altitude of about 2,400 m above sea level, which is commonly known as the Kandang Badak area.

8 Mount Pangrango has never erupted, therefore it has a relatively smooth cone-shaped peak.

9 Mount Gede has already erupted, marked by the presence of active craters including Wadon Crater, Ratu Crater, Baru Crater, and Lanang Crater.

10 In the area that is included in the TNGGP area live a variety of fauna that are very rare, including the Javanese gibbon, Lutung Surili, Ajag dog, leopard, Biul Slentek Melogale orientalis, a type of mountain shrew Crocidura orientalis, the Glischropus javanus bat and Otomops formosus, a kind flying squirrels Hylopetes bartelsi, two types of rats Kadarsanomys sodyi and Pithecheir Melanurus.

11 Around Mount Gede Pangrango there are several well-known tourist destinations, including the Canopy Trail, Blue Lake, and...

I’ve stayed in Wildan’s Guest House for one week. My double bedroom is on the second floor with a bathroom and Mountain View. There are two sitting area on 2nd floor with comfortable sofas. I use the one next to the balcony for my morning and evening tea time. In my first morning, when I woke up at 6am, I saw the beautiful sky from my room. I jumped out of bed and walked to the balcony to appreciate the sunrise. That’s the only sunrise I’ve seen since the following mornings are all cloudy. There were thunderstorms almost every afternoon. I love to watch the pouring rain from balcony too. The room rate includes the breakfast which was cook by Wildan”s wife. For my Asian’s appetite it’s quite good. Wildan provides me information about the public transport system. That’s very convenient and low cost. I can meet locals in the minibus and enjoyed the ride always. The buses are in different colors to indicate their destinations. I visited the “Cibodas Botanical Garden””Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park””Cianjur City” by these local buses. For “Grab” it’s more expensive and rare to find one. I also walked around to the villages nearby. Local people are very friendly to foreigners. I was invited to a family and had photos taken. Every day I always find something to do and never get bored. I visited in the first week of July. The temperature is fantastic at H26°-L19°C/ 79°-65°F . Absolutely gorgeous weather for the summer escape location. I am so grateful for the warm hospitality of this family. Their kindness and hospitality made my solo travel much more memorable. I highly recommend this guest house to travelers who want to stay in this area. BTW, I am too old to hike the Mount Gede so I didn’t do it. PS: In Indonesia you need to adapt with the “loud noise “ of 1-the early morning speaker prayer calling. 2- the motorbikes are very loud, they are everywhere at...

To sum up my experience: TRASH, THRASH and MORE TRASH... It is a shame that a National Park this beautiful is being so neglected by the authorities and the people climbing these mountains. The amount of trash is so incredibly sad to see and unfortunately this is the feeling that stays hiking this otherwise beautiful landscape!

As a foreigner we had to pay nearly 500.000 IDR per person and I'm questioning where this money ends up at...certainly not in park and waste management as you don't find a single bin anywhere...

If any foreigner wants to hike it anyway, here's the info you're looking for:

go to the entrance of the National Park which is called "Pintu Masuk Pendakian Cibodas" ( opens at 6am)

pay the entrance fee to the park here and do your medical checkup here which is around 500.000 IDR with the medical check

there is no need for a guide if you have your own equipment, but bring enough water for a day

hike up the trail till the campsite ( around 6-7 hours). There is water at the campground which is safe to drink without boiling it!

sleep early and hike up to the summit starting at 3-4am

to reach the summit it takes around 3 more hours and its a challenging steep path up!

hike down to the entrance the same day to avoid paying any fines for staying longer then permitted

make a stop at the hot springs halfway down and rest those soar muscles a little

To the park authorities: PLEASE spend some of that money you make from foreigners to install proper waste management and build trash bins along the way. Hire the army to do a proper cleanup and preserve our precious mother nature.

We only...