Breathtaking Situ Gunung Lake

On the slope of Mount Pangrango, we can find a small tranquil lake, Situ Gunung lake is located in national park, 16 km north of Sukabumi, around 135 km from Jakarta. According to local legend in Sukabumi, Situ Gunung not a natural lake, it is a man made lake. As the story goes, in 1800s, the lake was made by a noble of Mataram kingdom Mbah Jalun or Rangga Jagad Syahadana. Mbah Jalun was very happy when his wife gave him a son. His pride, happiness and thankfulness was implemented by creating Situ Gunung.

It’s a recreational lake within a nature reserve; but, you’ll find the area to be much more exciting than that. At the bank of the lake, we can enjoy the silent water, the fresh atmosphere, and the song of birds, especially manuk uncuing.

You can see around 250 species of birds that call the area home. There also you can see some lutung and surili, gibbons, leopards, squirrel, lizard,and porcupines too. Near the lake, we can find a park, camping ground, and jogging track.

Even with the rain, the Situ Gunung Lake is a great family destination. It can rain quite a bit out here, with most of the rain falling between December and January; which is the height of the rainy season that runs from December to March. The driest season is June to September; with occasional showers in the intermediate months.

Lake water from the Cimanaracun waterfall, located about 50 meters from the lake. Sukabumi local communities believe that the discharge water of the lake will never recede, although the dry season comes. They also believe that the lake water will be reduced by itself when it will be cleaned.