Mount Gede Pangrango National Park

Mount Gede Pangrango National Park is a national park in West Java, Indonesia. The park is centred on two volcanoes—Mount Gede (2,958 m) and Mount Pangrango (3,019 m)—and is 150 square kilometres in area. It evolved from already existing conservation areas, such as Cibodas Nature Reserve, Cimungkat Nature Reseve, Situgunung Recreational Park and Mount Gede Pangrango Nature Reserve, and has been the site of important biological and conservation research over the last century. Lower and upper montane and subalpine forests are within the park and have been well studied. To the north of Mount Gede is a field of Javanese Edelweiss (Anaphalis javanica). The park contains a large number of species known to occur only within its boundaries, however, this may be a result of the disproportionate amount of research over many years. The area is two hours drive from the Indonesian national capital, Jakarta, usually via Cibodas Botanical Garden.

Gede Pangrango National Park, together with four others, was established under a declaration made by the minister of Agriculture on 6th March, 1980. These first five park had the distinction of launching Indonesia's National Park Programme. The park, covering 15,196 ha, evolved from several already existing conservation areas: Cibodas Nature Reseve (240 ha), gazetted in 1889, was the oldest reserve in Indonesia and in 1925 was extended to 1,040 ha; Cimungkat Nature Reserve (56 ha) gazetted in 1919; situgunung Recreational Park (120 ha) gazetted in 1975; and Mount Gede Pangrango nature Reserve (14,000 ha) gazetted in 1978. The park is situated between longitudes 106°51'-107°02' East and latitudes 6°41-6°51' South. Administratively, it is shared between the Regencies of Bogor, Cianjur and Sukabumi. The Gede-Pangrango area has been the centre of much research over the last two centuries, so establishing its worldwide reputation. Sir Thomas Raffles organised the building of a path on the south-eastern slopes in 1811, although the earliest recorded climb of Mount Gede was by C.G.C. Reinwardt in 1819. Other explorations were conducted by F.W. Junghuhn (1839-1861), J.E. Teysmann (1839), A.R. Wallace (1861), S.H. Koorders (1890), M. Treub (1891) and W.M. van Leeuen (1911). C.G.G.J. van Steenis (1920-1952) collected and studied here in preparation for his now famous book: "The Mountain Flora of Java". published in 1972.

Today many Indonesian and foreign scientists carry on the tradition and, as a result, these mountains are one of the most well researched tropical forest systems in the world. Even so, in such a set of complex ecosystems, exact relationships between the myriad of species will keep biologists intrigued for many decades to come. Climate, topography and vegetation all interact. Gunung Gede-Pangrango, the twin volcanoes of West Java, is one of the first national parks in Indonesia. It covers a total forested area of 15,000 hectares. This area has a special place in the history of both conservation and botanical research in Indonesia. It includes the Cibodas Nature Reserve which has been the scene of numerous botanical and other studies for a period of well over a hundred years by a number of scientists and naturalists, including such eminent figures as Reinwardt, Junghunn and Wallace.

The park is within easy reach by road from Jakarta and Bandung, and the main entrance at Cibodas is situated about 120 km, or about 2.5 hours by car from Jakarta and 85 km or about 2 hours by car from Bandung.
It is also accessible from Cipanas and Pacet through Gunung Putri, just east of Cibodas; and from Sukabumi through Selabintana from the south at about 60 km or 1.5 hour by car from Bogor. Another entrance is at Situgunung, which can be reached through Cisaat, just west of Sukabumi. From these entrances (except from Situgunung) there are trails to the summits of Gunung Gede and Pangrango.

What to bring/Where to stay

Cool-weather clothing, rain coat, strong shoes for hiking, and camping equipments are recommended. Visitors have also to bring their own food, especiall for those who want to stay overnight in the park. Accomodation in the park is in simple guesthouses. The park also provides some camping grounds, including one at the Alun-alun Suryakencana, a flat area near the top of Gunung Gede. There are many hotels, villas and bungalows in the Puncak Pass-Cipanas area. This area is quite close to the Headquarters of the park.

Activities

Among the mountains in West Java, the twin volcanoes Gede-Pangrango are very famous for hiking and mountain climbing. There are 4 trails to go up to the summits of of the mountains; two trails are from Cibodas, one from Gunung Putri and another one from Selabintana, Sukabumi. Climbing the mountains and watching the sunrise from the top or the crater wall of Gunung Gede are the most exciting attractions for visitors.

Permit

A park entry permit is required for each visitor, and is available at the Park Headquarters, Cibodas.

You can enter the park by one of four gates :

Cibodas Gate (Cianjur) is the main entrance and the site of the park Headquarters. It is located about 100 km from Jakarta/2.5 hour drive; 89 km from Bandung/2 hour drive.

Gunung Putri Gate (Cianjur) is close to Cibodas and can be reached via Cipanas and Pacet.

Selabintana Gate (Sukabumi) is 60 km from Bogor/1.5 hour drive, and 90 km from Bandung/2 hour drive.

Situgunung Gate (Sukabumi) is 15 km from Selabintana in the direction of Bogor.

Except from Situgunung, Mount Gede and Pangrango summits may be reached on clearly marked trails.