Stone Garden – The Hidden Paradise
Bandung city has been known as the Paris Van Java city, which is one of favorite tourist destinations in Indonesia. Many travelers come to visit this city to enjoy its fresh air, tasty local cuisines, and to hunt for branded fashion goods at an affordable price.
Yet, not many travelers have known about a place called Stone Garden, which is located in Masigit village, about 30-45 minutes drive from the Bandung city. It can be understood since this place is only started to be open to visitors in 2015.
Prior to 2015, the place is only known as a stone mining area. Due to the archeological finding of the historical values of the stones in this area, the government prohibits stone mining in this area. Those who were previously worked as a stone (rock) miners gathered together to find alternative jobs or business for the continuity of their family income.
Given the fact of the stones historical value and the beautiful surroundings of the area, these former stone miners formed a local community organization to manage this area to become the new tourist destination in West Java. They also came up with the idea to name this destination as the Stone Garden Geo-Park. As per its name, the park is a relic of Earth history that aged around 27 years old. It is about 700 meters above the sea level.
Stone Garden, which is about 5 kilometers from the Padallarang exit toll, presents the artistic karst stones in various types which are surrounded by the wonderful mountain scenery.
Archeologists, who found the fossils of ancient animals and humans in this area, stated that this area was an ancient ocean which evolved to become the rock mountain. Moreover, a lot of the stones are in a kind of hollow rocks just like a sponge with large cavities which strengthens the argument.
Coming to Stone Garden will make you feel as if you were in ancient time, the Stone Era. Some travelers even defined this exotic place like Christmas Island in Australia. Due to the marvelous scenery of this place, many travelers visit this place for their pre-wedding photo sessions. Some others will choose to do one-night camping in this area to enjoy thousands of stars in the sky during the night with limited lights. Moreover, some companies have come to use this place as the setting for their commercial advertisings.
How to Get There
International travelers may choose to book a flight to Bandung or Jakarta. Either from Bandung or Jakarta, travelers will go to Stone Garden toward Padalarang exit toll. From this exit toll, they will need to continue driving to reach Cipatat and Gunung Masigit village. It is not yet advisable to take a public bus (transportation). The best alternative is to rent a car with a driver.
What to Bring
Due to the road infrastructure from the main road to this area, travelers may consider bringing kind of semi off-road car. In addition, bringing a bottle of water, hat, sunscreen, snacks are also advisable for this trip.
Moreover, travelers may also need to bring wet tissue and dry tissue for their business at the toilet as no tissue facilities provided. It is also advisable for them to wear sneaker for the trip convenience unless you want to do a pre-wedding photo session, which is worth to explore, in this area.
