TANGKUBAN PRAHU

Tangkuban Perahu, or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect, is an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, indonesia. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs upclose, and buy eggs cooked on its hot surface. This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983.
In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatao on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal.

Local Legend of the Mountain

The name translates roughly to "upturning of boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognize each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognize his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to build a dam on the river Citarum and build a large boat to cross the river, both before the sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant - to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban perahu from the hull of the boat.

RINJANI

Mount Rinjani is the third highest mountain in Indonesia which rises to 3,726 meters above sea level. It is an active volcano on the island of Lombok. The most recent eruption was in May 10, 2009. The oval shaped caldera of the volcano is filled with crater lake named “Sagara Anak” which is in the Lombok dialect meaning ‘child of the sea’. The reason of this name is because it is so wide that it appears like a sea with the blue water in it. The width of this crater lake is about 1,100 Ha!
Every year, thousands of local pilgrims visit the lake as they believed it to be a sacred place. Here, they offer gifts to the goddess that rules over the lake, Dewi Anjani (dewi means goddess, pronounced day-wee).

The three-day Rinjani trek route from Senaru to the crater rim, down to the Crater Lake then on to Sembalun Lawang, is considered one of the best treks in South East Asia. The national park of the Mount Rinjani manages the Rinjani trek. This is to ensure that communities around the mountain benefit from the tourism revenue. Revenue from tourism activities and entry fees is used for conservation, raining, management and assisting the National Park with maintenance of the Rinjani Trek, thus ensuring sustainability. The best time of the year to trek in Rinjani is from April to November.

The Gunung Rinjani National Park lies within a major bio-geographical transition zone (Wallcaeae), where the flora and fauna of South East Asia meets that of Australasia. The park covers about 413 square km. Some of endangered plants and also animals are protected here.