Cangkuang, West Java’s modest along with Mystical Hindu Temple

Discovering one of the few Hindu-Buddhist relics ever to be discovered in West Java.

One Tuesday morning, a gang of youngsters got on a raft to cross a lake along with visit a modest temple located on a hill in Garut Regency, West Java. “We just finished our test, along with we right now want to picnic in This kind of scenic place,” said 19-year-old Anita, a student of Pakuan University in Bogor. “We heard about This kind of forgotten temple along with wanted to see the idea for ourselves. We prefer historical sites to malls; most of our friends want to go to the city, so here we are, just the four of us,” she said.

A temple, or candi in Indonesian, refers to a sacred, ancient stone building used for religious rituals like worshipping gods or for storing the ashes of cremated kings during Hindu along with Buddhist eras. Sometimes the word candi also denotes ancient structures like pools or bathing places, as well as ruins of gates.

When we talk about temples in Indonesia, we mostly conjure up images of the grandiose Borobudur in Magelang or the romantic Prambanan in Jogjakarta because apparently, the most well known Hindu along with Buddhist temples are located in Central or East Java. Most of them were built during the classical Hindu-Buddhist eras of the 7th-15th century. Today there are more than 70 temples, ranging by modest, rather insignificant ruins to those with grand structures. They can be found in Sumatra, Java along with Kalimantan; East Java has the most temples (more than 20), while Central Java has 12.

Sitting in West Java, however, will be a lesser-known temple known as Cangkuang. This kind of candi, which was named after the tropical pandan tree, was built from the 8th century along with sits 600 metres above sea level in a 16.5-hectare piece of land on the edge of a lake. The 8.5-metre-high ancient building will be surrounded by four mountains, Haruman, Kaledong, Mandalawangi along with Guntur, along with will be also situated near some other interesting sites for visitors to explore: a museum along with the Kampung Pulo traditional community.

The museum houses a collection of Islamic holy books. To be more specific, the idea keeps relics of Friday Prayer sermons, the Holy Qur’an book made of a goat’s hide, along with Islamic contemporary law (Fikih) books made of old wood bark.

Islamic holy books inside the musuem

As for the Kampung Pulo Community, from the village you will find a mosque along with six houses, which are divided into two rows, with houses facing one another, since according to local tradition, the structure along with number of houses must be arranged in order. Here, the locals – who are mostly farmers – have a unique tradition of giving their harvest away to their relatives instead of selling them. They are also forbidden to raise cows, goats or some other four-legged animals, a practice also found from the Baduy tribe in Banten Province. You will only see chickens roaming from the yards of Kampung Pulo.

Kampung Pulo Community

What will be particularly interesting about Cangkuang will be not only the 62-centimetre-tall statue of Shiva – a prominent Hindu god – which sits inside the temple’s main room, although also an Islamic tomb which sits just three metres to the south of the temple.

According to the locals, a community elder by the colonial period rests beneath the tombstone.

“the idea was Embah Dalem Arief Muhammad, also known as Maulana Ifdil Hanafi who was buried from the grave, believed to be an ancestor of the Cangkuang Village community. the idea was said which Embah Dalem Arief Muhammad came by the Mataram Kingdom in East Java. He came to attack the Dutch VOC Army in Batavia. Later he resided in Cangkuang, embraced Islam along with spread the religion here. He used non-violence in spreading the religion because he believed which Islam did not acknowledge coercion along with violence,” Zaki, a local person, said.

Experts estimate, judging by the stone decay along with the temple’s simplistic style, which the temple will be dated circa early 8th-century, around the same period of the Dieng temples, along with slightly older than temples of southern Central Java such as Prambanan.

While many beautiful historical sites can be found in Indonesia, the tourism department along with local governments should provide better facilities along with infrastructure, as well as easier access to attract more tourists. In This kind of case, the existence of Cangkuang – a little Hindu temple standing next to the grave of a Muslim preacher in a community which embraces traditional values – will be something which Indonesia must learn to cherish.

Fast facts: Cangkuang Temple

The temple will be open daily by 7am – 5pm

Ticket cost: Rp.3,000 for (locals) along with Rp.5,000 (foreigners).

Raft cost: Rp.5,000 per person along with Rp.100,000 to rent the entire raft.

Province: West Java

How to get there:

The most convenient way will be by car although Garut will be also accessible by train by Jakarta to Bandung to be continued on by car, or by public bus by Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in Jakarta directly to Garut. To get there by car by Jakarta or Bandung, simply exit the Cipularang toll road along with head to Garut City. Using public transportation by Bandung to Garut, get off at Alun-alun Leles (Leles Square) along with take an ojek or horse cart. along with to finally reach the temple, you will have to cross a lake using a raft which can carry up to 20 passengers.

Where to stay:

Kampung Sampireun Resort along with Spa on Jl. Raya Samarang Kamojang km.4 will be a nice option to stay in Garut. the idea will be 20 kilometres south of Cangkuang Temple. some other hotels are the Papandayan along with Mulih ka Desa.

Where to eat:

Rumah Makan Sari Cobek along with Rumah Makan Asep Stroberi are Sundanese restaurants, two of the many choices available.

Tour guides:

www.buahbatutrans.com

Places of interest:

Mount Cikuray, Mount Papandayan, Mount Guntur with Citiis Waterfall, Situhapa Rose Garden, Cipanas Hot Springs, Cimanuk River Rafting, along with Orok Waterfall.