Dieng Plateau, Wonosobo - Indonesia
Dieng name derived from Sanskrit language which is "di" means the place and "hyang" means Gods. Overall Dieng can be defined as a place of the Gods. While the residents said Dieng derived from the word "edi" which means beautiful in the Java language, and "aeng" meaning strange. In other words Dieng is a beautiful place with a lot of oddities.
Located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, Dieng community should be grateful for the abundance of wealth which conferred upon their beautiful and exotic land. Candi Arjuna (Arjuna Temple) Complex which is the oldest Hindu temple in Java is still standing upright in the middle of whipping time and weather, as the evidence of the cultural heritage of an extraordinary wealth. Although some parts of the temple began to wear out with age, the worship of Shiva temple built in 809 AD is still stand sturdy giving the peaceful feeling in the midst of the natural silence of the mountains.
The cold weather has led to the unique style of dress of its people. Temperatures during the day ranged between 15-20 degrees Celsius while in the night between 10 degrees Celsius. In July and August temperatures can reach 0 degrees Celsius during the day and -10 degrees Celsius at night.
The residents are taking advantage of the cold air to maximize their farms. Their abundant land converted into fields for growing various vegetables and fruits. The main commodities are potatoes and cabbage. Carica, typical papaya of Dieng is turned into delicious meals that always hunted as typical souvenir of Dieng. Purwaceng, a wild grass that grows, turned into a nutritious drink to increase male masculinity. Speaking of culinary, a must try food of Dieng is the delicious Tempeh Kemul and the legendary Mie Ongklok Wonosobo.
Dieng is an active volcanic region and can be regarded as a giant volcano. Plains formed from volcanic crater that has died. Crater shape can be seen obviously from the plain with mountains cluster surrounding. Yet despite this volcano has been dead for centuries, some volcanic craters are still active until now. Among these is Kawah Sikidang (Sikidang Crater), which is always on the move and jumping like a "kidang" or deer.
The uniqueness of the formation process produced an exotic landscape. Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake) that reflects the color green, blue and purple and enchanting the beauty of sunrise from the summit of Gunung Sikunir (Mount Sikunir) is the places that should not be passed just like that.
The land trusted as the place of the God, mystical aura and myth still believed by many indigenous people of Dieng. One is the phenomenon of anak gimbal (dreadlocks kids). For some reasons many children in this region was suddenly turned into dreadlocked. They were born normal, just like the other children, but then got a sudden high fever and grew dreads on their heads. Most people believed that children are the decendent of "pepunden" or ancestral founder of Dieng. They are then have to go through a cut ritual, after their demand were granted by the parents. When the parents fail to comply, the dreads will grow again though it has been cut many times.
From Yogyakarta to Dieng
Dieng is located approximately 116 km from Yogyakarta. To get to the Dieng Plateau, you can use your own car or rental car directly to Dieng within 3.5 hours. For those of you who choose public transport, bus and travel (door to door minibus) are available to take you to reach Wonosobo. After that, the trip continued with a micro-bus to Dieng for about 1 hour. Natural scenery of green mountains along the road will pamper your eyes and eliminate the anxiety of going uphill road which constantly twisting.
Travel costs Yogyakarta - Dieng:
Yogyakarta - Wonosobo (by minibus): IDR 40,000
Wonosobo - Dieng (by microbus): IDR 8,000
Note:
Data obtained from the trip in October 2010. This page is not always updated and there is the possibility of price changes at any time.
Source: yogyes.com
