The long-awaited weekend to Bandung far exceeded my expectations. None of those factory outlets and traffic jams for us – oh no! On Saturday, we detoured off Bandung city to Kawah Putih (the white crater) and Ciwidey, around 30 km south, and spent a glorious afternoon inhaling sulphur fumes from the crater lake, then gathering the freshest, juiciest strawberries from the farms in Ciwidey.

 

From Ciwidey, we drove through magnificent greenery to Jadul Village Resort for a well-deserved rest for the night.

 

Sunday morning, we were off to Tangkuban Perahu, another volcanic site, one with an interesting story. Tangkuban Perahu apparently means ‘upturned boat’, so named for the shape of the mountain. I couldn’t identify this shape at all, but the craters (there were 3 of them) were quite spectacular.

From the top of Kawah Ratu, we trekked down to Kawah Domas through the forest, amidst lush greenery, and the most awesome ferns I have ever seen.

The reward for our efforts was a dip in the sulfurous hot springs at Kawah Domas. Very relaxing!

For our next visit to Tangkuban Perahu (yes, we will!), the plan is to trek all the way down to the tea estates. We passed a few on our drive back, and the sight of them whetted our appetite!