TRISIK BEACH

 

Address: Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta 55661, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S7°58'26.2" E110°11'37.1"

Trisik Beach offers the nuance of beautiful and simple coastal village. You can enjoy the scenery of the fishermen beach and look at the activities of coastal people, from going to the sea to drying the raw material for handicrafts under the sun.

Trisik Beach, Enjoying the Nuance of a Coastal Village

 Trisik Beach is the first beach in Kulon Progo Regency that you will see when you are passing Bantul - Purworejo road, through Palbapang and Srandakan. Located in Brosot Sub-Regency, Kulon Progo Regency, it is 37 kilometers from the city center. Trisik Beach is located so close to the main street so that it is easy to reach.

The trip to Trisik Beach will be enjoyable and will not be to tiring even though the distance is far enough. The road to this beach is smooth with minimal climbings and there are many small restaurants alongside in order for you to get rest when you are tired. Taking the Palbapang and Srandakan roads, you can also enjoy the beauty of Progo River scenery when you pass by the bridge connecting Bantul Regency and Kulon Progo Regency.

Trisik Beach has its uniqeness compared to other beaches in Kulon Progo in terms of its strong nuance as a coastal village. The beach, people's houses, the huts selling foods and the read connecting the village and the town are located closely one to each other. Various activities done by local people that make use of the coastal area and the ocean as source of their living also takes part in strengthening the coastal nuance of the village.

The center of the fish trading is one of some place that you will find when you come into this area. This place serves as the heart of Trisik community whose profession is fishermen, because this is the place where people are trading the fish they get. Usually, this place is busy as soon as the fishermen return from fishing. When YogYES came, there was one of the fishermen bringing the rayfish he got.

Upon arriving at the beach, you will feel the exoticism of the coastal village with the daily fishery world. You will see row of motorboats that fishermen are using when going fishing. Close to them, there are scattered nets showing that they had just been used. Some small warongs built from bamboo plait offer foods and drinks for visitors.

At certain time, you can see some birds flying on the sky of this beach. Is it believed that Trisik beach is one of the sheltering places for migrant birds from different areas. The migrant birds that you can see are, for example: swamp trinil, beach trinil, bush trinil, red-neck kedidi, cerek kernyut, small cerek kalung and Asian kites. In addition, there are such non-migrant birds as buffalo heron, cow swallow and blue shrimp.

When you walk westwards following the asphalted road to Glagah Beach, you will see the activities of Trisik coastal village community. On both sides of the road, people are drying hyacinth that they obtained from Ambarawa area under the sun. When YogYES came in the afternoon, they were collecting the dried hyacinth and then bound them in several bindings.

The dried hyacinth is sold to the craftsmen who make bag, sandal, and various boxes. The handicrafts are usually distributed to town or to handicrafts entrepreneurs in different areas for further processing. The craftsmen in town usually do the finishing process by adding some accessories to make them more beautiful. Small in scale, the activity of drying the hyacinth gives living to the people.

With strong coastal village nuance, Trisik Beach is worth writing in your tour agenda. Not many beaches have the beautiful yet simple nuance like Trisik Beach.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

SUNDAK BEACH

 

Address: Desa Sidoharjo, Tepus, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°8'47.8" E110°36'27.3"

Sundak Beach, Dog and Sea Urchin Fight which Result a Blessing

 Sundak Beach does not only have enchanting natural view but it also keeps story. The name Sundak turns to experience evolution of which evidences can be traced geologically.

In order to know its evolution, visitors must know first the condition the sea sides of Sundak Beach in the past and at present time. At the west side of the beach there is a mosque and a vacant space that is now utilized as a parking area. On the east side, there is a cave made of coral reef as high as around 12 meters. Entering the cave, there is a spring from which local people get fresh water.

Before 1930 the above area was still under sea water. The story tells that sea water reached the area where the mosque stands now and the cave was submerged in sea water. In line with geological process in the south sea, the sea water level decreased and sea water stood out more to the sea. The coral reef and the area around the mosque became new land that later coastal people used it for economy activities until today.

There was unique, natural phenomenon of the activity that finally served as starting point of naming this beach. When rainy season came, there was much water from the land flowing to the sea. Consequently, the land on east side of the beach split to make a river-look form. The flowing water looked like splitting the sand. When dry season came, the crevice disappeared since the sea water came ashore and drag away the sand. The name Wedibelah (the split sand) originated from this natural phenomenon. When YogYES visited the place, the crevice did not exist.

Tens of years later the name changed. In 1976, there was an interesting occurrence. In an afternoon, there was a dog running about the seaside and entered the cave where it met a sea urchin. Being starving, the dog tried to prey on the sea urchin but the sea urchin avoided. Then, the fight happened and finally the dog succeeded in eating half of the sea urchin body and the dog got out of the cave proudly. The owner of the dog, Arjasangku, saw half of the sea urchin body was still in the dog's mouth. Since then, the name Wedibedah was changed into Sundak as an abbreviation of asu (Javanese language for dog) and landak (Javanese language for sea urchin).

The quarrel turned to bring fortune for local people. After being short of water for years, local people finally found a spring. Initially, the owner of the dog was astonished that his dog was soaking wet after getting out of the cave. The hypothesis was that there was a spring inside the cave and the dog might fall in it while hunting the sea urchin. After some investigations, the prediction turned out to be true. Now, the spring functions as source of fresh water for local inhabitants. Pipes are now installed from the cave to distribute water to the community. The finding of the spring consoled the community who were disappointed because the wells that they dug were inundated by sea water.

Just imagine the condition of the area hundreds of years ago when we know its condition in 1930s. There had to be many organisms that utilized the lower part of the coral reef that now functions as a cave. For the reason, many archeologists believe that as the consequence of the occurring geological process, there were many sea organisms were left and piled up as fossils. Not many researches reveal what fossils exist in the area.

In addition to offering its silent historical witnesses, Sundak also offers enjoyable night atmosphere. You can enjoy the breeze of the night wind while ordering fresh fish to be grilled together with your friends. You only have to pay some thousands Rupiah for the firewood. If you are reluctant to do so, just order ready-to-eat grilled fish. To spend the night, you can just sleep anywhere; you can put up your tent or just lying on the bench of food sellers that are not used at night. Darkness can sometimes be more enjoyable than brightness. Don't worry about it.

If you want it, interact with local people can be valuable enlightenment. You can understand how people live their lives, their culture, and they might change your life point of view. To see Grandpa Tugiman who usually keeps the parking area or Grandpa Arjasangku can be another option. They are examples of the leaders of Sundak Beach. To have a talk with them does not only make you merely see the history witnesses but it enables you get direct story from the witnesses of how the story was carved. Please come, they all are waiting for you! (YogYES.COM)

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Sutrisno
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

SIUNG BEACH

 

Address: Tepus, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°10'54.7" E110°40'58.5"

Siung Beach is rich in the huge coral reefs. There are 250 routes for climbing the cliff in the area and you can find the proper sites to enjoy the beach panorama. There is also siung wanara coral reef from which the name of the beach originates.

Siung Beach, Having 250 Routes for Cliff Climbing

 Siung Beach is located in a remote area in Gunung Kidul Regency, to the south of Tepus Sub-Regency to be exact. The distance is around 70 kilometer from the center of Yogyakarta city or it will take you around 2 hours drive. Since it is difficult to get public transportation to go the beach, it would be easier if you make your travel with your own vehicle. Public bus or mini van from Wonosari city will stop at Tepus area only and you have to wait long to get one.

When you plan to make your travel by your car or motorcycle, make sure that they are in a very good condition. The reason is that you are going to go through challenging road with climbs, sharp bending and sometimes slopes under the hot sun in between limestone hills and vegetable fields. You will have to overcome all the hindrances since you come to Pathuk area (the first Sub-Regency that you will pass by in Gunung Kidul Regency) until you get to the beach.

You cannot escape from the hindrances. The easiest route with smooth asphalted road you best take is Yogyakarta - Wonosari continued with Wonosari - Baron - Tepus route. Another route, namely Yogyakarta - Imogiri - Gunung Kidul, has harder challenges with road full of holes, while Wonogiri - Gunung Kidul route is to far to take from Yogyakarta city.

Suffering before getting the happiness seems to represent your journey to Siung Beach. You will fee happy, released and peaceful after you get to the beach. The blue ocean and white, clean sands will cure tiredness. Some wooden houses are available for visitors to take shelter or to have a chat with friends while enjoying the beauty of the beach panorama.

One of the prominent enchantments of Siung Beach is its coral reef. The huge coral reefs at the west and east parts of the beach have important function to add the beauty of the scenery and to border with other beach.

The coral reef of which form resembles the fang of a monkey protrudes little bit to the ocean. The name of the beach was - according to Wastoyo, the local senior leader - taken from the form of the coral reef that resembles the shape of a monkey's fang. The coral reef remains beautiful to enjoy with the waves sometimes hit it and the seawater permeates through its cavities.

The monkey's fang coral reef that still stands firmly despite eroding waves becomes the witness of the triumph of Siung area in the past. Wastoyo tells that Siung area was one of the trading centers during the time of Islamic leaders in Gunung Kidul area. Close to the beach, in Winangun area, there is a traditional market. Here, Mrs Kami and Mrs Podi, the widows of the servants of the Yogyakarta and Surakarta Kingdoms lived.

Most of the people in Siung area make their living by producing salt. They rely their lives on the seawater that is rich in rich content. The salt produced by the local people becomes the main commodity in Winangun market. Even though the sea is rich in various kinds of fish, not many local people dare to go sea by that time. Most of them just catch fish at the shallow waters.

The trading in Winangun market was decreasing when the market was "moved" to Yogyakarta. The new market in Yogyakarta that used to be the Winangun market in Siung area was named Jowinangun that stands for Jobo Winangun, meaning outside the Winangun area. Local people lost their livelihood and not many people come to this area. There is no history telling what local people did to keep alive.

It was during the vacuum time that the beauty of the coral reefs in Siung Beach regained its popularity. In around 1989, a group of nature lovers from Japan utilized the coral cliffs to the west of the beach as an arena for cliff climbing. Then, in 1990s, there was a competition of Asian Climbing Gathering utilizing the coral cliff at Siung Beach. Since then, the popularity of Siung Beach began to come back.

As many as 250 climbing routes are now available at Siung Beach to facilitate the lovers of cliff climbing sport. Referring to the rule that the existing route can be added with the consent from the maker of the previous path, the routes can possibly be added. Many groups have made use of the climbing routes in this beach, such as a group of students from the State University of Yogyakarta that was about to climb when YogYES came to visit this beach.

The other facility supporting the cliff climbing activity is the camping ground in the eastern part of the beach. Tents are erected in the camping ground and fire can be set to spend the night. The only requirement to go camping there is destroying the environment and disturbing the turtle habitat as the sign board there says.

Close to the camping ground, a wooden stage-house can be functioned as the base camp as another choice than erecting the tent. It contains 10 - 15 people. The stage-house enables visitors to get wider view of the exotic beach. You only have to get permission from local people and pay some amount of money to use the stage-house.

When night comes or when there are not many visitors, the long-tailed monkeys will get down from the cliff to the shore. The existence of these rare long-tailed monkeys can be one of the reasons why the naming of the coral reef was analogized with the fang of the monkey, not other kinds of animals.

Wastoyo explains, based on what wise men explained, the prosperity and triumph of Siung Beach will come soon. The visit of more people and the increasing popularity as an arena of cliff climbing signal the movement of this beach to its triumph. The visit of tourists, including you, will surely speed up the attainment of the triumph.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

PARANGKUSUMO BEACH

 

Address: Parangkusumo, Parangtritis, Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°1'19.5" E110°19'29.4"

Parangkusumo Beach invites you to feel unforgettable spiritual experience through the Love Stone and to commemorate the meeting between Panembahan Senopati and the Queen of South.

Parangkusumo, the Love Beach in Yogyakarta

 Upon entering the gate of Parangkusumo Beach, you will immediately feel the sacred nuance of the beach that is located around 30 kilometers south of Yogyakarta city and it is believed to be the entrance gate to the south ocean. You will soon smell the fragrance of flowers and incense as the materials of an offering; the nuance you will find nowhere but in this beach.

The sacredness of the place feels more distinct when you look at the scattered flowers and sets of offerings on the Love Stone that is located in Puri Cepuri complex where Panembahan Senopati and Queen of the South met and made an agreement. At that time, Senopati was meditating on the bigger stone in the north when Queen of the South approached him and sat on the smaller stone in the south.

The meeting between the two authorities had influence on the relationship between Yogyakarta Kingdom and Bale Sokodhomas Kingdom. It began when Senopati was perfecting his supernatural powers by doing the ritual of tapa ngeli or carrying himself away in the river. Arriving at a certain phase of his meditation, suddenly there was storm on the beach, trees were yanked out by its roots, the seawater was boiling and fish were thrown to the land.

The occurrence compelled the Queen of the South to show up on the surface of the ocean to see Senopati. Senopati expressed his ideal to govern Mataram and asked the Queen of South for her help. The Queen promised him the help with the conditions that Senopati and his descendants would be willing to become her husbands. Senopati took the conditions with the request that the marriage should not bear children.

The agreement made Yogyakarta Kingdom as one of Mataram frictions to have close relationship with the Kingdom of the South Ocean. The proof of such a relationship is the labuhan alit (giving an offering by throwing out certain things to the sea) that is done annually. One part of the labuhan ceremony is planting parts of Sultan's nails, hair and clothes in the area of Puri Cepuri. Please check with Yogyakarta tourism calendar in YogYES.com for this labuhan rite.

The meditation of Senopati that bore useful fruits caused many people to believe that any requests will be answered if they are said by the Love Stone. It is not surprising, therefore, hundreds of people from different classes and religions come to the place on certain days they consider sacred. Going in pilgrimage to the Love Stone is also believed to help someone to release heavy burdens from him and to give new life spirit.

In addition to the Love Stone and the labuhan procession, you can also enjoy the beauty of the beach and the breeze of the seashore on a horse-cart. You only have to pay IDR 20,000 for the pleasant ride.

There are many warongs where you can buy meals and drinks. Quite big numbers of visitors makes this area crowded every day, even until late at night. Some of them even spend the night in this beach to say their prayer. If you want to share the spiritual experience in Parangkusumo Beach, you can join the pilgrims praying.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

NGRENEHAN BEACH

 

Address: Desa Kanigoro, Saptosari, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°7'19.2" E110°30'48"

In Ngrenehan Beach visitor's could see the fisherman's activities and get various fried/ grill fishes as souvenirs.

Ngrenehan Beach

Ngrenehan beach is located at Kanigoro village, Saptosari sub district, abput 30 km at the south of Wonosari city. This beach is gulf that guarded by limestone hill and amazing panorama with the sea waves struck white sand. Visitor's could see the fisherman's activities and get various fried/ grill fishes as souvenirs. In this area about 1 km west of this beach there are Ngobaran and Nguyahan beaches. Every month when the moon is full, Hindu people do Melasty ceremony at Ngobaran beach.

DEPOK BEACH

 

Address: Depok, Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°0'49.4" E110°17'34.1"

Depok Beach serves seafood cuisine from fresh fish and other sea catches in typical nuance of coastal restaurants. Not far from this area, you can see the sand dune panorama as the only such a view in South-East Asia.

Depok Beach, Enjoy Seafood Cuisine from Fresh Fish

 Among other beaches in Yogyakarta, Depok Beach is apparently the only beach that is designed to become the center of culinary tourism to enjoy various seafood menus. Some of the warongs were intentionally designed to face the ocean so that visitors can enjoy the waves rushing to the shore while having delicious meals.

The warongs and the activities of the fishermen have been improving since 10 years ago. The story tells that around 1997 some fishermen from Cilacap area found Depok Beach to be a good place to put their catches ashore. The fishermen with good catches of fish inspired the local people who made their living as farmers to catch fish.

Some people of the coastal community began to become tekong, local term for fishermen. The tekongs go to sea with their motorboats. Catching fish is done almost throughout the year, except certain days that are considered sacred, namely Tuesday and Friday of Kliwon (one of the five Javanese days of the week). The tekongs make good catches except June to September when fish are rare.

With such big quantity of catches, local people opened a center for fish landing that later was completed with a center for fish trading called Mina Bahari 45. Fishermen from other areas can even sell their catches there. When YogYES paid a visit, this fish trading center was occupied by many visitors.

With the increasing number of visitors to the beach that is located 1.5 kilometers from Parangtritis Beach, seafood warongs were opened accordingly. Generally, the warongs offer traditional nuance. The buildings are simple with traditional shape of roofs called limasan, while the seating is arranged for cross-legged on mats with small tables for eating. Simple, they are clean and comfortable.

Various seafood cuisines are worth trying. The most popular fish dish at reasonable price is tuna, at IDR 8,000 per/kg, consisting of 5-6 fish. Other kinds of fish are white kakap and red kakap that sell around IDR 17,000 - IDR 25,000 per kilogram. Quite expensive fish is bawal that sells at IDR 27,000 - IDR 60,000 per kilogram. In addition to fish, there are also crabs, lobsters and squids.

Seafood is usually served grilled or fried. You can choose fresh fish, other catches yourself, and then you go to one of the warongs to have them cooked. YogYES tried to have half a kilogram of tuna fish cooked and had them with a glass of tea that totally cost IDR 22,000 only.

After having good meals, you may leave Depok Beach for Parangkusumo and Parangtritis Beaches by turning right when you get to the asphalted road. On the way, you will see the amazing sand dunes as the only such a view in South-East Asia and it is rarely found in tropical areas. The wide sandy area looks like desert.

It takes thousands of years for the formation of the sand dunes through unique process. Some forms of them are barchan dune, comb dune, parabolic dune and longitudinal dune. Now, only barchan and longitudinal ones are present. The wind of the sea and the steep mountain slope in the east caused the sands, resulted from the activity of Merapi Mountain, at the bank of the river to blow away to the shore to form the sand dunes.

In order to get the place where you can enjoy having seafood while admiring the sand dunes, you can take the same road leading you from Yogyakarta to Parangtritis. Just before arriving the ticket box to Parangtritis Beach, you turn right through small-asphalted road. The entrance ticket to Depok Beach is IDR 4,000 for two people and one motorcycle. If you go by a car, you pay IDR 5,000 for the car plus additional fare per person.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

CONGOT BEACH

 

Address: Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S7°53'58.9" E110°2'3.4"

Congot Beach presents strong fishermen beach nuance. The activity of the fishermen going fishing on motorboats, fish trading and fishing at the seaside are done in this beach.

Congot Beach, the Nuance of Fishermen Beach

 Congot Beach is the right tourism beach to visit after going to Glagah Beach. Besides, the beach is so close to Glagah Beach and the road is just smooth even for biking. Located in Jangkaran village, Temon Sub-Regency, Kulon Progo Regency, Congot Beach becomes the center of the activities of local people who depend their life on fishing.

The beauty of the scenery can even be enjoyed while you are on the way to the beach. Along the way connecting Wates town and Congot Beach, you can see the green rice field and the activities of local people in Kulon Progo many of them are peasants. Just like the other plain coastal land in other areas, the road is decorated with coconut trees on both sides.

Congot Beach has its own enchantment compared to other beaches because of the strong fishermen and fishery nuances. Along the coastal line, you can see the activities of local people and domestic tourists who are going fishing. On other side, there are also fishermen who are fishing at the seaside, crushing the small crab shells attaching on the net, or cleaning the boat.

You will see the busy activities of the fishermen when you come at the right time. In the morning, fishermen usually go to the sea with their motorboats. In the afternoon, when YogYES came to visit, the fishermen usually bring the fish to be sold at the local fish-trading center.

Walking to the fish-trading center, you can see the wives of the fishermen cleaning the fish and sell to buyers. While fish trading takes place in the trading center, the fishermen are busy cleaning their boats and crush the small crab attaching to the net that will cause the net to tear. The activities are done from the afternoon until about the evening.

If you like fishing, you can express your hobby in this beach. Bringing your fishing equipments you can try your luck to get fish. If you do not have fishing equipments, you can use your small net and walk along the beach to get fish. Visiting with friends or fishing together will surely become an enjoyable activity.

There are some local people run small restaurant business offering seafood as the main menu. Enjoying the dishes while looking at the activities of the fishermen will surely give different nuance compared to enjoying the same menu at a restaurant in town. The delicious smell of fried, grilled fish will get trough your nose, and it evokes good appetite to quickly try it.

After you see the fishermen activities and enjoy the seafood, you can walk westwards to see the scenery of the estuary of Bogowonto River. You can stand on jetty (like dike) on the side of the river or on the stones at the bank of the estuary. The meeting point between the tasteless river water and the salty ocean water makes the area at the side of Congot Beach rich of various fish. At the river estuary, there are various kinds of fish at much quantity.

In order to visit Congot Beach, you do not have to pay extra cost. The entrance fee is included in the entrance ticket to Glagah Beach. The location of Congot Beach that is so close to Glagah Beach serves the reason to visit it. The strong fishermen and fishery nuances make this beach maintain its uniqueness and it cannot be just compared to Glagah Beach.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

WEDIOMBO BEACH

 

Address: Jepitu, Girisubo, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°11'3.8" E110°42'31.4"

Fishing at the height of a coral hill to get big fish is certainly extraordinary tour. In Wediombo Beach, you can get not only such an experience but you can try to eat Panjo fish and see the Ngalangi ceremony.

Wediombo Beach, Fishing from the Coral Hill

 The imagination of very wide, white-sand beach that enables you to see different angles of the beach will rise when you hear the mention of Wediombo (wedi=sand, ombo=wide) Beach. Nonetheless, Wediombo Beach actually does not have such wide spread of sands. The west and east parts of the beach are planked by coral hills so that the spread of the sands is not as wide as the one in Parangtritis, Glagah, and possibly Kuta beaches.

In fact, local people tell that the name of this beach that was given by the predecessors does not represent the real situation. Some people say that more appropriate name for this beach is Teluk Ombo (The Wide Bay), since the beach looks like a wide bay. There are two flanking coral hills with the seawater protrudes to the land but it is wider that common bays.

Apart from the inappropriate name, however, Wediombo still provides extraordinary beach view. The seawater looks clear blue; it is different from other beaches of which seawater looks greenish resulted from water pollution. The white sands with ornaments of the seashells are maintained well. The atmosphere of the beach is quiet so that it becomes the right place to get out of noisiness.

Wediombo is located in Jepitu village of Girisubo Sub-District in Gunung Kidul Regency. If you have come to Siung Beach, you will easily reach this beach. You only have to get back to a T-junction in Tepus before the road leading to Siung Beach, then turn right following the road until you get to a sign board asking you to turn right to get to Wediombo.

The location of this beach is far lower that the surrounding lands. You have to get down by the stairs in order to reach the beach and enjoy the panorama. While descending the stairs, you will be able to see the field, houses and mangrove vegetation on your left and right sides. Some people are seen carrying herbs for their cattle or taking care of the cattle in its stall.

In addition to the enchanting coastal panorama, Wediombo offers a unique tour experience, if not an extreme one, namely fishing from the height of the coral cliff. This kind of tour originating from the fishing habit of local people is popular with fishing hobbyists from Yogyakarta and Wonogiri. The main objective is, according to local people to YogYES, to catch big fish.

It is not easy to reach the fishing location at the top of the coral cliff. We have to walk eastwards through the shore; climbing steep and slippery cliff and sometimes the waves will hit us before arriving at the cliff that directly faces the deep ocean. For those who have been familiar with the route, it will take them one-hour walk.

The difficult way to the cliff, however, is paid well. Big fish are sometimes caught by the hobbyists. At least they will catch fish that local people name it panjo fish. The fish of which size is as big as man's arm are of two kinds, the cylindrical one that exist more during dry season and the flat one during the rainy season.

The baits are small fish that can even be collected at the seashore. We can use either fishing pole or fishnet to catch the small fish. It's cheap and easy, isn't it?

For those who do not dare to get to the top of the cliff, they might just buy the fish they the fishermen catch. They sell the panjo fish at IDR 3,000 one fish, or IDR 20,000 for a string of fish containing 5-6 fish. Some local people are willing to cook them for you if you wish. Otherwise, you can take them home as a gift for your family.

Cooked panjo fish are also available. Served with rice and condiment from chili pepper, fried Panjo fish is sold at IDR 7,000 only. The rice is served in the traditional container called bakul and the condiment is on traditional saucer called cobek. The portion is big enough for two persons. YogYES tried this menu in a warong located close to the parking area. Fried sea urchin that tastes like fried chicken is also available if you want to try.

At certain occasions, you can see Ngalangi ceremony that is held by local people. This ceremony takes place once in a year, just like the labuhan besar ceremony, of which objective is to express the gratitude to God for what have been granted and asking for good fortune for the future. The fortune is mainly good catches in sufficient quantity to fulfill daily needs.

The procession of the ceremony is unique; it begins by spreading gawar - the fishnet made from wawar tree. This kind of fishnet was used to catch fish before the present nylon fishnet. The gawar is spread out from Kedongkowok hill to the area of the rise and fall of the tides in order to trap the fish that are washed away by the waves and that cannot get back to the sea.

When seawater falls, the fish are collected. People are then busy cleaning and cooking the fish. Some of the fish are returned to the sea with some rice ans offerings. Most part of the dish is shared to the families. This ceremony is known as kenduri besar or great shared-meals as the form of local wisdom that fish are livelihood for all people.

In addition to Ngalangi ceremony, the enchantment of the beach can be enjoyed everyday. The entrance fee is only IDR 5,000 for two persons. If you want to spend the night and gather with some of your friends, you can use a small hut located close to the warongs alongside the beach. It is so refreshing to be in this beach.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

GLAGAH BEACH

 

Address: Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S7°54'45.8" E110°3'59.5"

Glagah Beach offers complete beach tourism, ranging from the beautiful lagoon scenery, biking and motocross facilities to coastal agro tourism.

The Glagah Beach, from Lagoon Scenery to Agro Tourism

 When you come to Glagah Beach, you will directly find plain coastal land. This gives you an opportunity to get wide view of all directions. Looking straight ahead, you will see the long horizon uniting the ocean and the sky. The beauty of the bending coastal line will satisfy your view when you look either westward or eastward.

Both the plain coastal land and the long coastal line also give you some alternative locations to see the beauty of the coastal scenery. Every location seems to have different nuance even though they are located in the same area. In each location, you can enjoy the overall view of the beautiful beach without boundaries of huge coral reefs.

The first location to get best view of the coastal area is the one that is planned to become a harbor in the future. You will find the place when you follow a 'PP' sign at the fist turn after the ticket post. The full-of-harmony meeting point between the river stream and the ocean waves can be seen by climbing to the view post in the location.

From the first location to some hundreds meters westwards, you can find a loog with the water flowing to the river estuary. This lagoon divides the coastal area into two, the one with coastal plants and weeds and the other place with the sand dune that directly borders on the sea. You can cross to the sand dune area through a connecting bridge that is located close to the river estuary.

Walking further to the west, you can see the activities of local people and some people fishing. When YogYES visited, they are standing in shoulders along the coastal line holding their fishing rods. The slightly sloping area gives much fish for local fishermen. Some kiosks sell seafood with various menus worth trying.

In addition to the beautiful coastal scenery, Glagah Beach also has various beach tourism facilities. One of them is the motocross circuit that is located at the seaside that will satisfy hobbyists of this sport. Meanwhile, the asphalted road connectiong the Glagah Beach and other beaches can be utilized for fun bike activity.

You can even enjoy the agro tourism facility by visiting Kusumo Wanadri plantation. There, you can observe the cultivation process of medication herbs such as dragon fruit and Roselle flower. Besides, you can also hire the bamboo-boat (in Javanese language: gethek), canoe, and rowing duck that you can use to explore the lagoon or you can just cross the wooden bridge to come to the sand dune area at the seaside.

When you feel tired after taking a long walk, you can take arrest in cross-legged sitting hut in the area of Kusumo Wanadri plantation. Some exotic menus and beverages are worth trying. You can try fresh dragon fruit juice and is famous for its efficacy to heal some illnesses, or you may order Roselle flower syrup that will quench your thirst and neutralize various toxins in your body.

In order to enjoy the entire beautiful Glagah scenery, you can take either one of the two alternatives roads. First, go southwards via Bantul road and turn right to Bantul - Purworejo road after you come to Palbapang. Second, go westwards via Yogyakarta - Wates - Purworejo road and turn left after finding a signboard directing to Glagah Beach. You would better drive your own vehicle to reach the access more easily.

The trip to this beach is not as difficult as reaching the beaches in Gunung Kidul area. The road is flat and not much so climbs that you can reach the beaches while relaxing your mind. The road leading to Purworejo city also connects Glagah beach with other beaches in Kulon Progo Regency. In other words, you can kill two birds with one stone.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

SADENG BEACH

 

Address: Girisubo, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°11'26.6" E110°47'53.1"

The line and the estuary of the Ancient Bengawan Solo can be seen when you come to Sadeng Beach. Looking at the present condition while imagining the past time is like witnessing the evolution process. Our eyes will see in astonishment.

Sadeng Beach, Visiting the Estuary of the Ancient Bengawan Solo River

 Bengawan Solo River used to flow quietly from its upper course in the north area and empty into Sadeng Beach that now is located in Gunung Kidul Regency. Four million years ago, however, a geological process took place. The Australia slab got under Java Island, causing the Java Land to rise slowly. The course of the river could not resist so that it turned northwards. The old line then dried since there was no flowing water anymore. This area is rich in limestone hills that, according to some researches, used to be coral reefs under the seawater.

Now, the ex line of the river that is popular through the keroncong song entitled Bengawan Solo created by Gesang becomes an interesting tourism object. In addition to serving as a tourism object, Sadeng, which was the estuary of the river, is one of the biggest fish harbor in Yogyakarta. Both of them become valuable geological sites. Once, there was a tour package exploring the course of the Ancient Bengawan Solo to its estuary.

On the way to Sadeng, we can see some hundreds meters line of the Ancient Bengawan Solo River. We can see the line after arriving at a blue plank with the writing "Girisubo - Ibukota Kecamatan". Get down from your vehicle and look carefully at the ex line of the river and record it with your camera.

There are two high limestone hills planking a low land that used to be the line of the river. The low land that now functions as a field for local people to grow vegetables bends beautifully as far as 7 kilometers northwards Pracimantoro area in Wonogiri Regency. The bends are so tempting that our eyes will have to see them.

The river line can also be explored southwards to its ex estuary in Sadeng Beach. One of the fishermen told that the estuary of the Ancient Bengawan Solo River was on the east beach, the area that currently is part of the fish harbor. Nonetheless, the explore to the south is not as beautiful as the one to the north because the line going to Sadeng Beach is not in the same direction with the flow of the biggest river in Java.

When we get to beach, we will see different scenery. The area of the beach also experiences changes like the line of the river that now functions as vegetables field. Sadeng Beach now functions as the most advanced fish harbor in Yogyakarta. This can be seen from the availability of big motorboats, gas station, shelters for fishermen and fish auction center and fishermen cooperative.

The development of Sadeng as a fish harbor has its own story. Around the year 1983, a group of fishermen from Gombong, Central Java came to this place. They considered Sadeng to be a potential place to go sea. The challenges are quite hard, not only the big waves but also local people's belief forbidding people to go sea and the beach that is believed to be mystical.

One of the fishermen, Pairo, told YogYES that the fishermen from Gombong believed that anyone could get into Sadeng Beach. Thus, anyone who dares to live in Sadeng will live. Finally, more fishermen from Gombong lived and made their living with their catches in that place.

Since then, the area keeps developing. In 1986, a center for fish auction was built and a harbor equipped with lighthouse to support the fishery activities were built. In 1989s, a cooperative for fishermen was formed. In 1995, an office that took care of the catches that also functions as a shelter for the transit fishermen was organized.

We will see the development of the fishery in Sadeng by visiting all parts of the beach. We will see fishermen cleaning their boats, carrying the fish to the acution center, grinding ice cubes to be placed in fish box before being distributed, and a number of mothers taking car of children in the shelter. All people are busy with fishery activities.

Besides, we can also explore the seashore in the eastern part and head to the sand dune close to the lighthouse. The scenery of the unlimited ocean will look clearly. Different from other beaches in Gunung Kidul in general, Sadeng does not have huge coral reefs so that our vision will not be obstructed. Sometimes, you can see fishermen's boats are going to sea.

Visiting Sadeng is like witnessing an evolution process. Along the way, we can recall the evolution of the low land of the Ancient Bengawan Solo line from its time when the water was still flowing to the present condition where the line changes its function as a field where local people grow vegetables. Meanwhile, visiting the beach seems like recall the beach that used to be the estuary that was quiet and now it becomes the biggest fish harbor in Yogyakarta.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM

NGOBARAN BEACH

 

Address: Desa Kanigoro, Saptosari, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°7'10.6" E110°30'20.4"

Ngobaran Beach is rich of cultural enchantment; ranging from the temple, the mosque directing to the south, to the hidden culinary potential of fried sea urchin.

Ngobaran Beach, from Temple to Fried Sea Urchin

 Going to Ngrenehan Beach and enjoying the grilled fish will be complete if you drop by Ngobaran Beach that is located adjacent to it. The location of the beach with high cliff is around two kilometers from Ngrenehan Beach. It is not far, isn't it? Local people of Ngrenehan Beach even talk and visit Ngobaran Beach, why don't you?

Ngobaran is such an exotic beach. When sea water falls, you can see spread of both green and brown seaweed. Being looked from the top, the spread of the algae growing in between coral reef looks like spread of rice field in a densely populated area. Tens of sea animal species also present in between the coral reef, ranging from sea urchin, starfish, to various types of cockle shells.

What you will not find in other beaches is the cultural enchantment, ranging from the building to the local food. One interesting place is four praying places that stand side by side. Is it form of multiculturalism? Who knows.

The most prominent one is a building that looks like a temple with ornaments of god statues in white color. The building was built in 2003 to commemorate the arrival of Brawijaya V, one of Majapahit's king, in Ngobaran. The people who use the place are of Kejawan belief. The name 'Kejawan' originates from the nickname of Brawijaya V's son, namely Bondhan Kejawan. The person who built the building acknowledge to be the descendant of Brawijaya V and appointed one person in the community to keep this place.

Walking to the left side of the praying place, you will see Javanese building, Joglo, which is used by followers of Kejawen belief to say their prayer. When YogYES visited this place, some people were saying their prayer. The people tell that Kejawan belief is different from Kejawen one. However, they cannot pinpoint the differences.

If you continue your way in front of the joglo, you fill see a stone box with dry plant on it. The plant is confined with grey wood fence. The point where the dry plant grows was the place where Brawijaya V pretended to burn himself. He took this step because he was not willing to fight his son, Raden Patah (the first King of Demak).

The truth of this story about Brawijaya V is doubted by many historians. The reason is, if Raden Patah attacked Brawijaya V, it will give an image that Islam was spread in a violent way. Many historians suggest that the existing historical evidences do not sufficiently conclude that Raden Patah made an attack. You may search any information for further assurance about it.

Some meters of the box where the dry plant grows there is a temple for Hindu people to say prayer. No detail information of its foundation.

In front of the dry plant grows, there is a mosque with the size of around 3x4 meters. The mosque building is quite simple since the floor is of sands as if it unites with the beach. What is unique is its direction. Most of the mosques in Indonesia face westwards, but this mosque faces southwards. The front part where the religious leader leads the prayer is open so that it directly sees the ocean. When YogYES asked local people about it, no one knows the reason. They even get surprised because the founder of the mosque is a well known kyai of Nahdatul Ulama who lived in Panggang, Gunung Kidul. For correct direction for those who want to pray in the mosque, local people make a sign on the wall using red pencil.

After being astonished with the religious site, you can get down to the beach. When you come early in the morning, you will see people take seaweed. They sell the seaweed at 1,000 to 1,500 Rupiah per kilogram. They use the earnings for their daily lives.

If you come in the afternoon, however, you will see people searching for sea urchin for their side dish at their dinner. The spines of the sea urchin must be cut first then it is pried using a sickle. The meat inside of the sea urchin is then taken out. When searching for the sea urchin, people usually bring bucket, coconut sieve, sickle, and hat to prevent them from the sun.

The ingredients to cook sea urchin are salt and chilli. It is then fried. Not many people sell this menu. They say that the meat is quite delicious. If you really want to have a try, please ask them to cook specially for you. Maybe you have special recipe to cook sea urchin so that it can be served as favourite cuisine and increase society welfare.

Isn't it complete yet? There might not be other choices for the beach beauty, enchantment of the praying places, and tempting cuisine other than this beach. (YogYES.COM)

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Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Sutrisno
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

SEPANJANG BEACH

 

Address: Desa Kemadang, Tanjungsari, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°8'0.2" E110°33'11.3"

You do not have to spend too much money going to Kuta Beach only for sunbathing. You may go to Sepanjang Beach to sun bathe with more beautiful scenery.

Sepanjang, The Old Kuta Beach

 If you want to enjoy the nostalgia of Kuta Beach in the past time, Sepanjang Beach is the right place. Sepanjang has long coastal lines, clean water sands, and medium waves. You can just choose: sun bathing under the bright sun, surfing, or just enjoy the beach beauty. You can enjoy all the things when you come to the beach that lies some kilometers from Sundak Beach.

Sepanjang Beach is one of newly opened beaches. The name 'Sepanjang' which means 'long' derives from the characteristic of the beach that has the longest coastal lines of all beaches in Gunung Kidul. The atmosphere of this beach is so natural. The seaside is decorated with palm trees and huts roofed with dry leaves. The coral reef in the rise and fall of tides area is kept well. The dashes of waves reflect blue color signaling uncontaminated sea water. With such a situation, it is not false if the local government and investors plan to make this beach the second Kuta Beach.

The natural atmosphere makes Sepanjang Beach superior to Kuta Beach. Sepanjang does not offer such cliché things as beach café and luxurious cottages, but closeness to nature. You can still dig out coral reef to find mollusk and starfish (Echinodermata). You can also pull out seaweed from the coral. However, you must be careful in order not to stick the sea urchin's spines. You will not find those all in Kuta, will you?

The community sticks firmly to the coastal culture. No permanent buildings alongside the beach, only some huts where local people are living. Still on the coastal area, there is field where people plant soy bean. The slope beach that is directly dashed by waves prevents people from going to sea. Looking at the back, there are two hills on which valley where people plant corn as their main food. The land on top of the hill has been bought by an investor to make villa where visitors can stay.

Sepanjang also has a historical site, namely Banyusepuh. 'Banyu' means 'water' and 'sepuh' means to wash. Thus, the name means that the place that used to be a water spring is used to wash or to bathe. Those who used the place were Islamic pious leaders who washed their sacred weapons. You must ask local people to locate this site. When YogYES came to the place, there was only dry trash damp with wild plants around it.

When you get tired, have a rest. Local people usually sell food and drink in the huts alongside the beach. You may sit on bamboo seat while chatting and enjoying the wind of the sea. YogYES had the opportunity to enjoy the cool weather under the hut. When daylight is fading, look westwards where the sun sets. Local people will warmly welcome you to stay in their house because there are no villas yet.

For the souvenirs that you are going to take home, you do not have to worry. You do not have to take food as souvenir, do you? Some people living some kilometers from the beach make handicrafts from seashell that then are sold by coastal people. Even though it is not as commercial as those in Malaysia, the handicrafts vary. The shapes are royal carriage, statue, hair pinch or the dried ones and buried in white sands. Some of them are painted. The price is so fair, only five thousand Rupiah each.

Low price does not necessarily mean low value. Handicrafts made from seashell have precious historical value. If you read articles or books on Conchology Mollusca, you will know that such handicrafts are of high culture developing in coastal community. The people in Hawaii of the United States of America, Melanesia islands, or Maori in New Zealand develop similar handicrafts. They set seashell to become necklace, pant, belt, and carve them to make marvelous fine arts.

If you have no budget for the souvenirs, you can collect the seashell on the seaside. This small thing becomes interesting present with further processing. Take a piece of seashell and put it into plastic bag. Arriving at home, buy some tobacco or mint and mix it with alcohol 90%. After you soak it one night, take it and polish it slowly. The process will eliminate the lime layer on the seashell, leaving the central layer (prismatic layer). Polishing will make the color of the seashell brighter.

Isn't it interesting to make a tour to Sepanjang Beach? What are you waiting for? You can just ride your motorcycle or step on the gas pedal of your car. You do not have to worry about the stony road to this place since the beauty of nature and culture you are going to enjoy pay for it. Trust me, it pays everything and you will agree to a tourist from the Netherlands saying, "This is the real new Kuta. There are many beaches here and there have been so many tourists in Bali; the beach here is so quiet, so enjoyable." (YogYES.COM)

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo: R. Syah
Artistic: Sutrisno
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

PARANGTRITIS BEACH

 

Address: Jl. Parangtritis km 28 Yogyakarta 55188, Indonesia
GPS Coordinate: S8°1'29.7" E110°19'57.2"



Parangtritis, the Most Popular Beach in Yogyakarta

In addition to being the most popular beach in Yogyakarta, Parangtritis is worth visiting since it is closely related to such tourism objects as the Sultan Palace in Yogyakarta city, Parangkusumo Beach to the west of it, and the Merapi area at the north part of Yogyakarta. Located around 27 kilometers from the city center, Parangtritis Beach is also part of the Queen of South's authority.

The naming of the beach has its own history. Hundreds years ago, someone named Dipokusumo, who was a fugitive of Majapahit Kingdom, came to this area to meditate. When he saw water dripping from the crack of the coral reef, he named this area 'parangtritis', originating from the word parang (stone) and tumaritis (water drops). The beach close to the area was then named the same.

Parangtritis is a beach full of myths, which is believed to be the manifestation of the unity among Merapi Mountain, Yogyakarta Kingdom, and Parangtritis Beach. The legend tells that Panembahan Senopati and Sunan Kalijaga once met in this place after completing their meditation. Panembahan Senopati was reminded of being a humble ruler despite his supernatural powers.

The primary attraction of this beach is its natural view. The enchantment of the coastal scenery can be seen from different angles to give you different experiences. When you are standing at the seashore, you will see the wide ocean with the high waves and steeply mountainside on the east side.

To get the view from the site, just walk or hire the horse-cart westwards and you look southwards when you have reached the place. You may get to the place by riding a horse that you shall rent at negotiable price.

After enjoying the scenery of Parangtritis beach from the seashore, you can leave for Langse Cave for a different experience. On the earth road leading to the cave, you can look westwards to see Parangtritis from different angle. The high waves rushing to the shore will look silvery under the sun, and will look golden by the sunset time. YogYES got the opportunity to see this exotic view during its visit a couple of days ago.

Before reaching Langse Cave, we suggest that you pay a visit to the graveyard of Syeh Bela Belu that will give you spiritual experience. Usually, many pilgrims come on certain days such as certain Tuesday that is called Kliwon on Javanese calendar as one of the five Javanese days of the week.

From the graveyard, you may challenge yourself to continue your journey to Langse Cave that you have to go on foot to get to the cave that is 3 kilometers away through as high as 400 meters mountainside at the slope of almost 900. To get into the cave that is also called the Queen of South cave, you have to get the permission from the tomb guard. According to the guard of Depok Beach several times entered the cave when he was young, we will get beautiful view of the south ocean at the mouth of the cave that directly faces the ocean.

On the fifth day of the fifth month of Chinese calendar, you will be able to see Peh Cun ceremony procession in Parangtritis. Peh Cun, originating from the word Peh that means oar and Cun that means boat, is Chinese expression of gratitude to God. This rite is also meant to commemorate Khut Gwan (Qi Yuan), a loyal patriot as well as a minister who was once betrayed by his colleague so that he committed a suicide.

Peh Cun ceremony is unique since there is no festival of dragon-decorated boats rowing like in other regions, instead there is an attraction of standing egg. The attraction begin at 11:00 a.m. and by afternoon, according to the myth, the egg will stand upright with no means of support are needed. By 01:00 p.m., however, the egg will suddenly fall down and no one can erect it anymore.

To get to Parangtritis Beach, you can take either one of the two routes. One is the route of Yogyakarta-Imogiri-Siluk-Parangtritis with the river and coral reel scenery on the way. The other is Yogyakarta-Parangtritis route that is easier to take with quite smooth road. It is suggested that you do not wear green clothes to respect local people who believe that green clothes will bring misfortune.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2007 YogYES.COM