Must-see attractions in West Java

On the remote southwestern tip of Java, this Unesco World Heritage–listed national park has remained an outpost of prime rainforest and untouched…

At the heart of Bogor are the fabulous botanical gardens, known as the Kebun Raya; the city’s green lung covers 87 hectares. Everyone loves the Orchid…

Just outside town in the pretty rural district of Ciburial is this sleek contemporary art gallery. It exhibits both Indonesian and international artists…

This mixed-use national park is home to small swatches of primary rainforest, but also includes plantations such as the Nirmala Tea Estate. The park's…

This national park, which takes up the entire southern end of Pangandaran, is a wild expanse of dense forest. Within its boundaries live porcupines,…

The stunning gardens of Kebun Raya Cibodas are an extension of the Bogor botanical gardens. Spread over the steep lower slopes of Gunung Gede and Gunung…

In business for around 200 years, this family-run operation is one of the few remaining gongsmiths in Java, where you can see gamelan instruments smelted…

Lovely Kawah Rengganis (also known as Kawah Cibuni) is a pretty, isolated river fed by hot springs and surrounded by billowing steam from volcanic vents…

Sulphur mists swirl around the deadened and burnt black trees that line the shores of the acid-water volcanic lake of Kawah Putih (or white lake). It's a…

Jl Suryakencana, steps from the garden gates, is a whirlwind of activity as shoppers spill en masse from within the byzantine concrete halls of Pasar Baru…

Situ Patengan is a pretty lake buried into the folds of mountains carpeted in tea estates and remnant patches of forest. It's a popular stop with local…

Surrounded by other small villages and roads lined with palm trees and paddy fields, the tiny village of Ciokoto is the site of a large wayang golek…

The impressive bubbling yellow crater is just below the peak and clearly visible from the Garut valley on clear mornings. From the car park it is an easy…

In the northwestern corner of the botanical gardens, the summer palace of the president was formerly the opulent official residence of the Dutch governors…

This volcanic crater, 30km north of Bandung, has a flat, elongated summit that resembles an upturned boat (prahu). It's a huge attraction and certainly a…

Opened in 1920, the ITB was the first university open to Indonesians – Sukarno studied here, and it has a reputation for political activism. In 1998, in…

The Batutulis is an inscribed stone dedicated to Sri Baduga Maharaja (1482–1521), a Pajajaran king credited with great mystical power. The stone is housed…

Around 7km north of the centre, Villa Isola is a landmark art deco building, a four-storey villa built by a Dutch media baron in the 1930s as a private…

The Museum Konperensi inside the Gedung Merdeka (Freedom Building) is dedicated to the Asia-Africa conference of 1955, which Bandung hosted and the echoes…

Pantai Karang Hawu, 4km west of Cimaja, is a towering cliff with caves, rocks and pools created by a large lava flow. According to legend, it was here…