The deer enclosure
Hand-feed tame Javan rusa.
Reizka Dwidianto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aceng Sofian — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Reizka Dwidianto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Reizka Dwidianto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Reizka Dwidianto — CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranca Upas is a forest campground and deer-breeding enclosure in the Ciwidey highlands south of Bandung, run by Perhutani, Indonesia's state forestry company. The site covers about 215 hectares, ringed by protection forest, at roughly 1,700 m in the Mount Patuha area; temperatures hover around 17 to 20 °C. Its full name, Kampung Cai Ranca Upas, adds the Sundanese for water village. The name pairs the Sundanese ranca, marsh, with Upas: local legend makes him a towering forest guard who vanished in the swamp, while others point to the poisonous upas tree. Perhutani turned the old marsh into a forest recreation area, and a Gadjah Mada University thesis dated 1998 recorded 40 Javan rusa in its enclosure, a species the IUCN lists as vulnerable. Most visitors head first for the deer, buying carrots and greens at stalls by the enclosure gate to feed the tame herd by hand. Beyond lie camping meadows, pools filled from natural hot springs, a separate onsen-style bath, and an adventure course with a flying fox, rope bridges and archery. Mist often drifts over the meadow early and late in the day. It sits at km 11 of the Ciwidey–Patenggang road, about 50 km by road from central Bandung via Soreang; allow 1.5 to 2 hours each way. Kawah Putih's crater lake lies about 3 km south and Lake Patenggang about 5 km south-west as the crow flies, so all three fit into one day. Weekends are crowded and weekdays quieter. Public transport is limited, so come by private car or hire one with a driver.
Hand-feed tame Javan rusa.
Warm water in the cool highlands.
A night among misty ridges.
Ciwidey–Patenggang road, km 11, Rancabali district, south of Bandung
Days are mild but nights are cold. At the height of the dry season, especially July and August, Indonesia's weather agency says the Ciwidey highlands can approach 0 °C between night and dawn, so campers need warm layers and a good sleeping bag.
Yes. The meadows are a paid campground with tents, sleeping bags and mats for hire and set places for campfires; a recent price list puts a foreign visitor's camping ticket at about IDR 66,000 per person, tent hire not included.