Curug Malela Waterfall

Exploring down land scenery of Bandung, West Java, with mountain around it is a never ending tour; one place was visited, another spot invited to come. There are some water fall resorts around Bandung I have already visited, and Curug Malela Waterfall seduces my curiosity.

Curug Malela  Waterfall is Kampung Manglid, Desa Cicadas Village, Kecamatan Rongga District, Kabupaten Bandung Barat Regency. It’s at opposite border of Kabupaten Cianjur Regency on Northwest Bandung, and this waterfall is really wonderful to visit.

Base on topography map, Cicurug River has created naturally Curug Malela Waterfall in height about 50 meters and width about 70 meters. Toponymy (science of land) of river that suits with river’s character has formed so many waterfalls. Its water river spring from north Gunung Kendeng Mount with giant caldera marked in diameter almost 15 km. From a passive volcano at west Ciwidey District, float the nets of Cidadap River that flows through North West passing Gunung Hlu District and it scratched a range of rocky hard land surface which generally marked as a product of ancient volcano’s eruption.

Cidadap River, after crossing north of Bunijaya area, then floating into a rectangular form, it is a zigzag winding pattern of river flow and even another river in straight up line. These rivers flow through the west side namely Cicurug Waterfall started to enter a deep relief of Plateau Rongga.

Some deep relieves of Plateau Rongga within steep valley formed more than 45 degrees green canyon stilt. Some peaks of plateau have more than 1000 meter height above the sea level, and it compounds the best fresh cool air on Plateau Rongga and the wide green highland surrounded by tea plantation grows in fertile.

The relief was formed of berks and conglomerate stones in 5 or 10 million years ago! At the exchange time of land and sea age, the source of these stone ages was ancient Sundanese volcanoes of West Java. The same type of stones was found at Curug Malela Waterfall wall in plate line covered and very hard. Curug Malela Waterfall shows an impression of straight, strong, tough, and also gentle rock slippery wall.

Just use a very slow speed camera when you want to take some amazing pictures of Curug Malela Waterfall scenery, especially to get a marvelous rock wet surface on a grand shower of waterfall as a foreground. You will never bored taking picture around detailed cloudy dew of waterfall, and you will stay there all day long enjoying a spectacular natural phenomenon.

However, Curug Malela Waterfall is not a tourism object, there is not any access to the destination, there is not any direction sign since Gununghalu Town and you should ask the directions to the people on the way to Bunijaya village, that turn on the right into Simpang Rongga Junction. The country road then winding, narrowed and steep up the hill.

At the town of Rongga we will encountered a junction, turn on the left through Montaya Tea Plantation, the road is cool green silent fresh linked by mahogany big trees and the road enters an up and down winding hill on another long narrow country road.

Then you should bring enough food and beverage with you.

Touring from Gununghalu through Montaya, in which the distance was less than 20 km length, should be taken about 2 hours, and from Kubang junction through Cicadas where we should passed a 3 km long stone road about an hour.

As we arrived at Cicadas, we should walk to pass a plantation road and take about an hour to get Curug Malela Waterfall after walking down a 70 degree hill tilt!

Translated by Denny Rachmat from Budi Brahmantyo/”Pikiran Rakyat” Senin, 3 Agustus 2009