Gunung Padang Megalithic Site

Where do you think I went last week? Up to the hill or down to the beach?

Still a bit traumatized by Lombok’s humidity strike, I need more time not to visit any palces by the sea. Haha.

I dragged myself up on the hill this time to satisfy my thirst of historical knowledge. I sweated myself up to the point of almost fainted, haha.. and visited Gunung Padang Megalithic Site. In Cianjur, West Java. To be honest with you, before that Saturday, I had no idea Cianjur was so freaking far away from Jakarta, not to mention from Bintaro. It drove me insane. Haha.

Because of the remote location without public transportation access, I decided to join an open trip. Cheap and hustle-free (err.. not so much in the end, though). At 6.15 sharp in the morning, I arrived on the meeting point. The next 30 minutes, all twelve of us were on our way to Karyamukti Village.

Lampegan Station

Oldest tunnel in West Java built in 1882

At around 11.30 am, we reached our first destination, Lampegan Station to have lunch. This train station is known for its oldest train tunnel in West Java. Located only 6 kilometers from Gunung Padang, this station’s elevation is +652 meters above sea level. How cool is that. Currently, this historical station only serves one train trip, Siliwangi Railway (Sukabumi-Cianjur).

An hour later, we spotted the megalithic site’s entrance. The entrance fee, as I can remember (for it’s all included in the open trip’s fee), was only Rp 5.000,-.

Ticket booth

The steep stairway is 175 meters up

There were two stairways to reach the hill, the reasonable way and the steep one. I had no idea why my tour guide, Mas Ranu, managed all of us to use the steep one. He was extremely patient with me, though. I walked up the hill with turtle’s acceleration and almost fainted. Seriously, I thought I would die or something. LOL. Drama queen.

 

Refer to Wikipedia, Gunung Padang site has been called the largest megalithic site in all of Southeastern Asia, and has produced carbon dating results which, if confirmed, suggest it is extraordinarily old, older than Egyptian pyramids.

Located at +885 meters above sea level, the site covers a hill in terraces bordered by retaining walls of stone. There were five visible terraces, as of now. The Sundanese people consider the site sacred and related to Prabu Siliwangi, the King.

I was mesmerized by thousands of rectangular bricks scattered across the green grass making patterns. I wonder who and how ancient people set those heavy stones up.

A meter long stones

First terrace entrance

Scattered ancient stones

The site seen from above

At a moment, I sat down under the shadow of a tree, staring at Mount Gede Pangrango. Took deep breathes and felt the breeze. It was a remarkable experience that I achieved another must-visit place in my beautiful country.

 

I guess I should thank God for the privilege.

Any idea where to visit next?

 

Stay golden,

 

W

The girls behind me were taking selfies, maybe, hundred times. Haha..