The Gunongan
A small white mountain like a flower.
Si Gam — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Si Gam — CC BY-SA 3.0 · G.B. Hooijer — Public domain
The remains of a seventeenth-century royal garden, once known as the pleasure garden, attributed to Sultan Iskandar Muda or his successor Iskandar Thani. Popular tradition says the sultan built it for his wife, a princess from Pahang on the Malay Peninsula known as Putroe Phang, to ease her longing for the mountains of home. Its best-known feature is the Gunongan: a white, round, tiered structure shaped like a small mountain, with three layers like the petals of a flower, climbed by a narrow stair. Its purpose is not known for certain; it may have been a place of rest or of royal ritual. Around it are the remains of a small gateway and stones from the old garden, beside the tidy Putroe Phang park. Entry is free, and the park opens from eight to six. It is quiet and shady, good for a short break between the sights of the city centre. It is a few steps from the Tsunami Museum and close to the Baiturrahman Mosque, so combine them in one walk. Half an hour is enough.
A small white mountain like a flower.
From the seventeenth century.
Built to comfort a princess from Pahang.
Sukaramai, near the Tsunami Museum
Aceh Tsunami MuseumA museum commemorating the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 203 minutes walk
Aceh Museum and the Rumoh AcehOne of the oldest museums in Indonesia, which began as a traditional Acehnese ho7 minutes walk
Baiturrahman Grand MosqueThe emblem of Aceh, the land Indonesians call the Verandah of Mecca because it w10 minutes walk
PLTD Apung 1 (the Tsunami Ship)A huge vessel of some twenty-six hundred tonnes, a floating power-generating bar13 minutes walkClimbing the narrow stair is sometimes allowed, but it is an old monument, so respect any signs forbidding it, and take care with children.