Tea gardens
Green hills round the lake.
Crisco 1492 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Crisco 1492 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanobel — CC BY-SA 4.0
A calm lake ringed by green tea plantations on the Ciwidey highlands south of Bandung, at about sixteen hundred metres, close to Kawah Putih. An old Sundanese love story of a prince and princess parted and reunited is tied to it, and a small island in its middle, called Love Island, is visited by boat. Families come for its calm, cool air and the tea terraces stepping down the hills; you can ride swan boats or wooden boats on the lake, walk the tea gardens and eat at a restaurant shaped like a pinisi ship on the shore. There are glamping sites in the area. Entry is a token fee of around twenty-five thousand rupiah at the local rate, possibly more for foreigners, with boats priced separately by agreement. It is cool here, so bring a jacket. Pair it with Kawah Putih in one day, as they are close together. The road from Bandung jams at weekends, so a weekday is best.
Green hills round the lake.
A small island by boat.
At about 1,600 metres.
Rancabali, Ciwidey, south of Bandung
It is best as part of a Ciwidey day with Kawah Putih and the tea gardens. On its own it may not justify the long drive.