The Ciletuh Geopark is a scenic valley in West Java that’s loaded with large waterfalls and different good issues to see.
This space is a UNESCO-designated world geopark, and it has among the best waterfalls in Indonesia, however most worldwide vacationers have by no means heard of it.
We spent a number of days right here and had been glad we went! The situation is fairly distant, nevertheless it’s definitely worth the journey in the event you like waterfalls and hidden gems.
This journey information will clarify learn how to go to Ciletuh, the place to remain, and what to see there!
How To Get To Ciletuh Geopark
The Ciletuh Geopark is positioned within the far southwest nook of West Java province.
It’s not close to any main cities, so that you’ll must do a little bit of a highway journey for this one. It’s a 2.5 hour drive from Sukabumi, 4 hours from Jakarta, or 6 hours from Bandung.
We traveled right here from Bandung, after which went to Jakarta afterwards. Both means, the roads are largely in good situation all the way in which to the geopark.
We employed a personal driver from Bandung to take us to the geopark in his van, however you might additionally go simply fantastic with a bike, and it could be cheaper.

Cimarinjung — one of many nicest waterfalls at Ciletuh

Epic rainbow at Cikanteh waterfall
Greatest Issues To Do & See At Ciletuh Geopark
• Curug Puncak Manik Waterfall
That is the primary waterfall we visited within the Ciletuh space, and also you’ll most probably go it in your drive into the geopark.
It’s a forty five to 60 minute hike every means, with a steep descent, however they’re engaged on bettering the trail so it’s extra manageable. While you attain the stream, you’ll must cross and go left. It was ankle to knee deep after we had been there.
This can be a twin waterfall and it’s 100 meters tall. Alongside the way in which, we noticed a uncommon hawk, a large centipede, and different attention-grabbing issues. A neighborhood man confirmed us the way in which and helped us take pics, so we tipped him 50k Rupiah.

Curug Puncak Manik waterfall

Shut up view of the falls, with an area man for scale
• Curug Awang Waterfall
That is one other waterfall close to Puncak Manik. It’s not as tall, nevertheless it runs over a large cliff. It’s a 5 minute stroll to the viewing platform, or 10 minutes to the highest, and one other 5 or 10 minutes in the event you go to the underside.
This waterfall was already drying up after we visited, which was a bummer, however I’m positive it could be very spectacular when it has extra water flowing.

Curug Awang

The Awang and Tengah waterfalls are shut to one another
• Curug Tengah Waterfall
That is an uncommon trying waterfall which you could attain from the identical parking as Curug Awang. The waterfall was good and large even in April.
It’s a ten minute stroll to see the falls, however there’s no simple path to the underside and it could in all probability take one other half-hour to go down.
We determined to remain on the prime and do a drone pic as an alternative.

Drone selfie at Curug Tengah. See us on the prime of the falls?
• Curug Cikaso Waterfall
This can be a good turquoise coloured waterfall that requires a 1.5 hour drive outdoors of the primary Ciletuh space. It’s definitely worth the journey.
To achieve the falls, there’s a brief and straightforward 10 minute hike on a cobblestone path by scenic rice terraces. You can too go by boat alongside the stream, though we didn’t see a lot level since they had been desirous to cost us extra for that.
The perfect time to {photograph} this one is at the beginning of the dry season. If you happen to come in the course of the wet season, it’ll in all probability be heavy brown water and also you gained’t get to see the great turquoise shade.
The lighting is finest early within the morning or possibly within the late night. You possibly can swim right here, and we noticed some small fish and crabs close to the waterfall. Cool!

The distinctive trying inexperienced waterfall at Curug Cikaso
• Curug Cigangsa Waterfall
This can be a large waterfall surrounded by rice terraces. It’s a 1 hour drive from the primary Ciletuh space, in the identical course because the Cikaso waterfall, so you may go to each of those locations collectively.
When you get there, it’s solely a 2 minute stroll to the waterfall, however then one other 5 or 10 minutes to achieve the underside if you wish to see it up shut.
This waterfall most probably dries up from Might onwards, so it’s not going to be as spectacular after that. It was nearly dry after we went in April.

Curug Cigangsa was beginning to dry up after we went, nevertheless it nonetheless appeared good.
• Principal Seaside
The principle seashore at Ciletuh isn’t actually spectacular, nevertheless it’s price seeing. It’s listed as a ‘white sand seashore’ on Google Maps, nevertheless it truly has brown or black sand, with good views and sunsets.
You possibly can even see the Cimarinjung waterfall within the distance when you’re sitting on the seashore.
The locals come right here for dust biking and paragliding, which appeared enjoyable. Sadly, there was plenty of trash on the seashore after we had been there.

The principle seashore at Ciletuh

Sundown on the seashore
• Curug Cimarinjung Waterfall
This can be a stunning and distinctive trying waterfall that’s centrally positioned in Ciletuh, and you may attain it in lower than 5 minutes of mountain climbing on a largely paved path. It had a robust circulate even in late April.
You will get pretty near it, however the rocks close to the falls are slippery, so watch out. This was one in every of my favourite waterfalls within the space.

2-step waterfall at Curug Cimarinjung

Drone pic of the falls
• Curug Cikanteh Waterfall
Cikanteh is likely one of the largest waterfalls in Indonesia. It’s really a large, and in my view, that is probably the most spectacular waterfall at Ciletuh.
The locals will inform you a information is required for the hike, regardless that it’s by no means. It solely takes 10 or quarter-hour. The trail is obvious and straightforward, and completely unremarkable apart from crossing a bamboo bridge.
Nevertheless, a information might be useful in the event you go to as much as the second degree of the waterfall, which is a brief hike, however steep and never clearly marked. Most individuals solely view the waterfall from the underside, nevertheless it’s price going above to see it up shut. It’s very spectacular.
The locals can even ask for a donation, which serves as the doorway price. We gave a 10k donation, and paid 50k to a information for taking a lot of pics and displaying us to the highest.
Pictures at Cikanteh are finest when it’s shaded within the early morning, or afternoon when it’s within the solar. We caught an enormous rainbow right here within the late afternoon!

Decrease view of Curug Cikanteh
• Curug Sodong Waterfall
This one is positioned proper within the parking zone for Cikanteh, so you may see it with out mountain climbing. It’s a twin waterfall that’s greater than it seems in images, though it shrinks fairly a bit within the dry season.

Drone pic of Curug Sodong
• Puncak Darma Viewpoint
This can be a viewpoint on the prime of the Ciletuh cliffs, and you may attain it in 5 or 10 minutes of driving from the valley flooring.
It’s an awesome spot to see the sundown! There’s a bamboo ‘boat’ the place you may pose for images, with superb views of the Ciletuh valley, the cliffs, and the entire bay.

The point of view at Puncak Darma

Nice views of the Ciletuh valley & bay
• Curug Dogdog Waterfall
This can be a bonus waterfall you may cease and see when you drive as much as Puncak Darma. It’s a pleasant 3 layer waterfall, and there’s solely a 5 minute stroll to achieve it.

Curug Dogdog
• Gunung Tumpeng Hill
That is an uncommon pointy peak within the Ciletuh hills, with views of the Indian Ocean.
It’s hiding in a distant location in a rubber plantation, and to achieve it, it’s a must to drive on some bumpy rock roads.
I used to be tempted to climb out to the sting of the height, however since I used to be sporting sandals and there are steep cliffs on either side, I made a decision to not threat it.
There’s slippery gravel on the trail, and the drops look deceptively secure as a result of they’re overgrown with bushes, however a fall right here may very well be deadly. Watch out in the event you resolve to climb it.

Gunung Tumpeng
• Curug Panganten Waterfall
That is one other large waterfall within the hills above the Ciletuh valley. We missed this one on our journey as a result of it’s a bit distant, and we weren’t positive what the highway could be like.
The photographs I’ve seen of the waterfall look nice, and there’s one other one close to it known as Curug Cibelener.
Map Of Issues To See In Ciletuh
Right here’s a map of the very best issues to see within the geopark and the encircling space.
Take into accout the places are approximate, and among the waterfalls on this map might require a little bit of mountain climbing or driving on damaged roads to achieve.
The place To Keep At Ciletuh
Listed below are just a few lodge choices within the Ciletuh Geopark. All of those are positioned immediately within the valley, close to the waterfalls and different sights of the park:
- RedDoorz @ Geopark Ciletuh Sukabumi – Primary however snug air-conditioned rooms. That is the place we stayed after we visited the park.
- Dua Bidadari Villa – Midrange lodge positioned proper by the Cikanteh waterfall. You possibly can see and listen to the waterfall from the lodge. It additionally has household dimension rooms and free breakfast.
- Ciletuh Hills Lodge & Cafe – Luxurious rooms with superb balcony views of the waterfalls.
- RedDoorz near Ciletuh Sukabumi – Another choice from RedDoorz that’s extra finances pleasant. We don’t have expertise with this one, however you may’t beat the value.

Bananas galore! We noticed this by the highway and a few locals allow us to take footage.

Vibrant colours at Curug Cikaso
Different Ideas For Ciletuh
- ATM: There are a number of ATMs within the valley, though we didn’t strive them to see how properly they work.
- Electrical energy: Despite the fact that this can be a distant space of Java, it has 24/7 electrical energy, so that you don’t want to fret about outages.
- Entrance Charges: Most of the waterfalls within the Ciletuh Geopark have a small entrance price or parking price if you go to. Often it’s like 5k or 10k Rupiah per particular person at every waterfall. The park itself doesn’t have a price.
- Mosquitoes: We noticed some mosquitoes after we had been consuming on the eating places, however managed to keep away from any bites. In line with this Lancet study from 2018, there could also be some Malaria presence on this space, so that you’ll need to placed on mosquito spray always. We didn’t use prophylactics.
- Cell Service: We had first rate 3G and 4G information with Telkomsel all through the valley.
- Eating places: We ate most of our meals at Geopark Ciletuh Cafe & Resto. The meals was good and costs had been affordable.
- WiFi: Our finances lodge didn’t have WiFi, however the larger finish resorts ought to have it.

Banana-mobile. Discover the prolonged seat and deal with bar.
How Lengthy To Keep
We stayed at Ciletuh for 3 days, and that was sufficient time to see all of the highlights of the park.
If you happen to keep longer, you could discover much more attention-grabbing issues within the space. It’s nonetheless a really uncharted place, and most worldwide vacationers go to East Java as an alternative.
Greatest Time To Go to
For the reason that predominant motive to go to Ciletuh is to see the waterfalls, ideally you must attempt to go after they’ll look their finest.
We went in late April, which is getting close to the dry season, and the waterfalls had been fairly good, however they had been already beginning to dry up a bit. Then again, December or January could be too wet.
Based mostly on our expertise, the right time to go must be February, March, or early April. The waterfalls must be actually large in these months, with out trying too brown or muddy from flooding.

Rice terraces at Curug Cimarinjung
Extra Journey Guides For Indonesia
Thanks for trying! I hope you loved this journey information for the Ciletuh Geopark in West Java.
Don’t neglect to take a look at my different Indonesia journey guides, and my record of the best waterfalls in Indonesia!
See Additionally