Mount Papandayan, one of the most visited mountains in West Java area, really offers wonderful night sky scenery. I have heard lots of people talking here and there about its dead forest, edelweiss, but they rarely bring up so much about the its night sky experience.
I went to Papandayan with my friend in August. It took us less than 2 hours, walking through the sulfur carter while also taking pictures along the way, to finally reach Pondok Saladah, an area where you are allowed to camp. Before reaching Pondok Saladah, there is one small area called Gober Hut. That time the locals first told us that we could enjoy the sunrise from there too. We decided to take a look and yes, you can see the landscape covering Mount Tangkuban Parahu from there and you will see some space enough for about ten camps. But we decided not to camp there because we thought the area was still new so we just did not want to give it a try (hehe) and we would like to be around other people's camps.
Putting all the camping details aside, we started my stars hunting session after cooking and eating dinner, around 9 o'clock. It was really really cold out there but the second i tilt my head up to the sky, was the moment that successfully trapped me speechless.
Getting through the night sleeping and freezing, i spent the next morning in dead forest. I woke up at about 4.30 am then took prayer first o:). Then we went straight out of camp and start the unexpected struggles to find our ways to dead forest in darkness. We arrived just in time to not miss the sunrise!
Getting through the night sleeping and freezing, i spent the next morning in dead forest. I woke up at about 4.30 am then took prayer first o:). Then we went straight out of camp and start the unexpected struggles to find our ways to dead forest in darkness. We arrived just in time to not miss the sunrise!
After spending about 1-2 hours in dead forest, we then went back to the camp to cook some breakfast and pack up our stuff. Before continuing our story, there is something i would like to say to all the humans beings out there, especially the ones going back to nature:
First of all, the place is not yours and you seriously never have the right to litter. It is already your good fortune to be allowed to come and see the beauty of mother nature, so please leave it as the one you would love to see in the first place. So after all things are packed, we continued our walk to Tegal Alun. Actually, you would have already met edelweiss when you stroll around Pondok Saladah, because there are some bushes spread over the area. But not wanting to skip a thing, we decided to continue hiking all the way up to give Tegal Alun a look, a large area full of edelweiss bushses!
BRING YOUR TRASH AND PUT THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE!
First of all, the place is not yours and you seriously never have the right to litter. It is already your good fortune to be allowed to come and see the beauty of mother nature, so please leave it as the one you would love to see in the first place. So after all things are packed, we continued our walk to Tegal Alun. Actually, you would have already met edelweiss when you stroll around Pondok Saladah, because there are some bushes spread over the area. But not wanting to skip a thing, we decided to continue hiking all the way up to give Tegal Alun a look, a large area full of edelweiss bushses!
Always remember what mother nature say:
TAKE NOTHING BUT PICTURES!
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| EDELWEISS EVERYWHERE!!! (with our twin carriers aimlessly sitting there) |
And yes, that's it. A one night camp in Papandayan was enough for us. Not too far, not too high, yet what an incredible short vacay with many great experiences it has given us!
From our journey:
- I recommend spending half of your day doing photo hunting session in dead forest then continue your walk to to fulfill your craving for Edelweiss in Tegal Alun. I guess it would be better and easier if you don't go up there bringing your carrier because its path is just not that smooth and might need more portion of your energy.
- If you are planning on doing stars hunting then pick a place near the area where you can see the sky clearly because it is dang cold out there and trust me the first thing you want to do after all the hunting stuff is to run straight to your camp
