Indonesia - Telaga Warna and Kawah Sikidang

After our visit in Candi Arjuna Complex, we moved on to explore another attraction in Dieng Plateau, Telaga Warna. Known in English as the Colourful Well, this lake is a popular tourist destination in the region. 

Telaga Warna

It is known as Telaga Warna because of its fluctuating colours. This is a natura phenomenon where the water of the lake gives off different colours at different times or days. It might be green, yellow or any other colours in the rainbow. On the day of our visit, the lake decided to give us a greenish water.

Does the water appears greenish to you?

Group shot

This natural lake is rather beautiful. To look at the peaceful water surrounded by the lush green of the forest, breathing the unpolluted air, it is such a privilege. It is said that due to the high content of sulfur in the water, you might notice some bubbling in the middle of the lake. We didn't see that but when we went circling around the lake, we stumbled upon a section where the pungent smell of sulfur lingered in the air and that there were bubbles around the water. The smell was so strong we can't stay there for long.

Strong smell of sulfur

Bubbles caused by the high sulfur content

Telaga Warna also has a few ancient caves situated around the lake. These caves are often used for religious purposes as seen with the stone statue of Hindu deities. Even though there is not much to see, this place is worth exploring just for the peaceful atmosphere. The entrance fee for Telaga Warna is IDR 6,000 per person.

One of the few caves in the park

A stone statue

The final stop in Dieng Plateau was the Kawah Sikidang or Sikidang Crater. Despite being inactive for centuries, there are still a few volcanic craters in Dieng Plateau and one of them is Sikidang Crater.

Kawah Sikidang

Steam was rising from the ground

The main reason to visit this crater is to witness the rising of steams from the ground. However, during our visit, we didn't stay long as it started to rain heavily after we arrived not too long later. We just had a look before taking the taxi and heading to Magelang to our hotel.

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Indonesia - First Stop, Dieng Plateau

When my friend and I came back from Semarang, Indonesia, back in 2012, we immediately planned for another exploration in the country. Coincidentally, AirAsia mega sale was on and we managed to grab two more of our coursemates to join us, this time to Yogyakarta. Flash forwards to April 2013 and the four of us were on the flight to Semarang.

Wait a minute. Didn't I say Yogyakarta? Then, why were we flying to Semarang then? As both cities are only about 3 hours apart, we decided to fly to Semarang and back from Yogyakarta. Alright, more like AirAsia decided for us as we can't find promotional prices to Yogyakarta for return flights. However, we didn't stop and explore the city (since the two of us already done that) and once we arrived, we rented a taxi in the airport to bring us to Dieng Plateau, our first stop.

We stopped by a tahu (tofu) factory for a quick snack

Fried tahu - quite delicious

It was a 4 hours journey from the Ahmad Yani Airport to Dieng Plateau and when we reached the highland, it was already 1 p.m. The ride along the way was really beautiful but since the road taken was almost the same from the one when we first when from Semarang to Magelang, I fell asleep halfway. 

When we were getting nearer to Dieng Plateau

Dieng Plateau, Wonosobo is not a major tourism destination in Indonesia and this is an advantage for us. There were barely any tourist around when we arrived Candi Arjuna Complex, the main attraction in Dieng. There are about eight Hindu temples scattered across the complex. While none of them are as grand as Prambanan, they are still quite a sight themselves.

Candi Arjuna

The entrance fee for the complex is IDR 25,000 (about RM 8) which I think is rather affordable. There are about eight small temples in Dieng Plateau and are said to be the oldest standing temples in Java. Out of these eight candis, the main one is Candi Arjuna. The names of these temples are said to be inspired after the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Taking photo with the candi

One of the eight temples

What I really enjoyed when in Dieng Plateau was the peacefulness of the place. There were little tourists in the complex, allowing us to explore the area in a relaxing pace. The weather was also enjoyable and cooling, considering it being an upland. We saw a lot of bell-shaped flowers here in Dieng Plateau and it was really pretty. Too bad we had no idea what their name is.

That bell-shaped flowers on the left

Hydrangea

After spending about an hour exploring the complex and taking photos, we decided to head to another landmark in Dieng Plateau, Telaga Warna.

Group shot

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Sharing is caring. A word of advice and a piece of information.

We decided to hire the taxi for the whole day, with him bringing us to Manohara Hotel in Magelang at the end of the day. The whole trip costed us IDR 900,000, which was about IDR 225,000 per person (about RM 72). While you surely can't find such a rate anywhere in Malaysia, I do believe you can find a cheaper one in Indonesia. When I told how much we paid to my friend, he told me to hire a minivan instead. The rate is about IDR 250,000 for half day and it comes with driver. We just have to pay for petrol, which costs about IDR 100,000. Hence, arrange your transport to pick you up from the airport with minivan.