Sanghyang Poek, The Cave

This is the continuation of my post yesterday and the day before.

Sanghyang Poek, the cave, was not as far away as I had thought it would be from Saguling Dam. After walking for only about 15 minutes, we arrived at the mouth of the cave. We walked inside and with the help of our torchlight explored it.

Sanghyang Poek is not that big a cave. It's more or less U-shaped. You enter from one mouth and exit at another opening. What you see inside is quite interesting though, especially if you walk with someone who knows a lot about the geological history of the place. It was quite dark inside and none of the pictures I did manage to take inside seem to come out right. So here's a picture that I took at the end of our exploration.

Gua Sanghyang Poek tidak terlalu jauh letaknya dari PLTA Saguling. Setelah berjalan kurang lebih 15 menit, kami sampai di mulut gua. Gua berbentuk U ini tidak terlalu besar dan bisa ditelusuri dari pintu masuk yang satu dan keluar dari pintu masuk yang lain. Suasana di dalam gua ini gelap dan cukup pengap. Kita memerlukan lampu senter untuk menelusurinya. Penelusuran gua akan lebih menarik kalau kita didampingi oleh seorang pemandu yang mengerti betul sejarah geologi tempat ini. Jika tidak, bentuk-bentuk batuan di dalamnya mungkin tidak akan terlalu menarik bagi kebanyakan orang.

The Track to Sang Hyang Poek

This is the continuation of my post yesterday.

From our departure point at Saguling Hydroelectric Dam, we walked south-southwest along the bank of the old (the original) Citarum River before it was diverted and dammed, past some fields and bushes like in the above photo. Our destination was Sang Hyang Poek, an ancient limestone cave which used to be situated underwater and was part of the Citarum flow but now lies above the water because the large part of the Citarum water has been diverted to feed the dam.

Sang Hyang Poek (sometimes also written Sanghyang Poek) is a Sundanese name which literally means the god of darkness. The name was probably given to describe the darkness inside the cave.

Along the way, we could see some towering limestone cliff on our leftside (see photo below). This limestone and the shells and fish fossils found in it indicate that this place used to be located under the sea. And indeed it was many thousand years ago.

To be continued tomorrow.

Ini kelanjutan dari posting kemarin. Dari PLTA Saguling, perjalanan kami dilanjutkan ke arah selatan menelusuri tepian aliran sungai Citarum lama (sebelum dialihkan dan dibendung untuk projek PLTA Saguling). Sepanjang perjalanan kita dapat melihat tebing kapur yang menjulang tinggi di sisi kiri. Tebing kapur ini dan fosil-fosil yang ditemukan di dalamnya menunjukkan bahwa daerah ini riuan tahun yang lalu terletak di bawah laut.

Fanciful Fence Decoration

Fanciful fence decorations I saw at the backyard of Bale Pare at Kotabaru Parahyangan, a newly developed satellite town near the town of Padalarang in West Bandung.

The photo is bid dark because it was rainy and the sky was very dark when I snapped the picture. I should come back to take another photo when it's sunny.

Dekorasi pagar warna-warni yang saya lihat di Bale Pare, Kotabaru Parahyangan, dekat Padalarang, Bandung Barat.

Saguling Lake

The tranquil water of Saguling amid the backdrop of the blue ridges of Bandung's southern mountain range seen from Cikadu, Sindangkerta, West Bandung Regency.

Saguling is a man-made en-catchment lake made for a hydroelectric power plant dam of the same name. It was built in 1985 and is located on the upstream of the Citarum River about 40 kilometers to the southwest of the city of Bandung at the elevation of about 650 meters above sea level.

The Saguling Dam currently produces 700 megawatts of electricity. The capacity can, however, be increased to 1400 megawatts when required. The dam is part of a system of three dams along the Citarum. The other two, located further downstream, are the Cirata and the Jatiluhur.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in Watery Wednesday.