"Welcome to Bogor, The Rain City" a Bogor Travel Page by Rinjani

Bogor is my hometown, or at least the town has been my home since I was 12 years old. The town is 60 km south of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city, and is surrounded by mountain and hills.

Bogor is also known as a “rain city”, because rain followed by thunder occurs frequently in the city. Many ‘Bogorenese’ (please consider it as my term for the people of Bogor) have lived there for ages. Bogor is also called the “Garden City”, since the Botanical Gardens are located at the heart of the city. The Botanical Gardens were built in 1817, during Dutch rule. It is home to 15,000 species of trees and plants. Some species of plants are rare. Many of the trees are more than a hundred years old, which makes the heart beat faster when the rain and thunder come. I have experienced several bad traffic jams because of falling trees.

Bogor has several places of interest. It takes only 45 minutes to reach Bogor from Jakarta (I commute daily between Jakarta-Bogor).

The Botanical Gardens, as I mentioned earlier, are the main attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. The Presidential palace is located at the front part of the Botanical Gardens. More than 300 white-spotted deer live in the presidential palace yard.

Unfortunately, tourists cannot enter the palace as individual visitors. Only group visits are allowed, which require prior booking. But, it’s worthwhile to enjoy the architecture of the palace and to see the huge collection of paintings and sculptures of our famous former president, Soekarno.

The Zoology and Herbarium museums in Juanda Street - the main street in Bogor where the Botanical Gardens are situated - are also interesting. These places are the main places of interest in Bogor City.

Puncak, a highland area located in the northern part of Bogor, has several places of interest. The most famous one is the Safari Garden, where tourists can enjoy driving a car and experiencing in and out from one animal section. Among the animals kept here are some comparatively rare species such as anoas, rhinos, giraffes, white tigers and European, American and Asian bears. The tiger, lion and bear sections are my favorites. It is always nice to see them close up from your car. Buses are also available. Within the park there is a hiking trail, a waterfall and a wonderland. It is a nice place to visit.

Another place is the Flower Garden “Taman Bunga Nusantara” in Cibodas. Now covering 35 hectares, the park has an outstanding collection of flowering plants from around the globe, There are other places such as “Telaga Warna”, a small lake with green water, “Riung Gunung”, a rest area where one can enjoy eating corn and walking in the tea plantations. “Gunung Mas” is a big tea plantation where you can visit a tea factory and enjoy a sip of hot fresh tea, horse riding; there is also a camping facility there and cottages at average prices. In Gede Pangrango National Park there is a botanical garden at the entrance to the park. The national park is beautiful. One can enjoy hiking along the beautiful route with waterfalls, craters, hot springs and edelweiss fields on the slopes of the mountain. Mt. Gede is 2l897 meters high, while Mt. Pangrango is 3019 meters high.

My favorite is West Bogor. I enjoy the mountains and forests in the western part of Bogor. There are some interesting places such as Mt. Salak, which has a waterfall, hot springs and a crater. The most famous places here are Curug (Sundanese for waterfall) Nangka and Curug Luhur. In another part of West Bongor there is Gunung Bunder, which has several places of interest such as Kawah Ratu or Queen Crater. One needs to walk 45 minutes to reach it. It’s suitable for hiking). There is also Curug Cigamea and Curug Seribu; the height of the waterfall is 100 meters. It is beautiful, but you need your hiking shoes. There is also a cave called Godawang Cave.

A relic of the Tarumanegara kingdom of 450 AD can be found on the banks of the Ciaruteun River. The stone is inscribed with Sanskrit characters. The site is a pleasant 2-km walk from Campea village, just 9 km from Bogor by car.

Other Places

Other places of interest are not in the main part of Bogor, but in Sukabumi, a sub region of Bogor. For those who enjoy rafting, there is the Citarik River. One of the tour operators there has created a village, which is really back to nature. The village is without electricity, without cell phones, but it’s beautiful, because the village is located in the delta of the river. If you book and spend the night there, snacks and meals are included in the package. The place is also often used as an outbound training or team-building facility.

There is also a cave called “Buniayu Cave” in Cisaat, Sukabumi. The interesting thing about this cave is that its site is underground. It is very beautiful there, and it also has a beautiful waterfall. There you can rent caving equipment, from helmets to shoes. A guide is also available.

Halimun National Park is located within the regencies of Bogor, Sukabumi and Lebak. Besides its ecological and scientific importance, Mount Halimun National Park offers areas for recreation and eco-tourism. Activities include walking, and observing animals or the rich flora.

Situ Gunung is a National Park located on the slopes of Pangrango Mountain in the Sukabumi district, 12 km from Kota Wisata. The interesting thing about this site is the natural lake, camping grounds, Curug Sawar and Curug Cimana Racun.

The Javana Spa, located on the slope of Salak Mountain, is 32 km from Sukabumi and 8 km from Cicurug. One can have a great time here, where one can also restore body and mind among the beautiful scenery of the forest and Mt. Salak.

For those who love greenery or the outdoors, a visit to Bogor is recommended.