[Day Tour] Let’s Go Under! Jomblang Cave

Yogyakarta (or Jogjakarta) has been known as The Neverending Asia. Many say that a single visit to Jogja is never enough.

The list of things you can experience in Jogja may seem overwhelming, ranging from natural splendors, art and tradition and heritages to culinary adventure. This is why Jogja is the second most visited destination in Indonesia, next to Bali.

Jogjakartas geographical condition also supports the variety of existing tourism objects. Friendly climate ensures that you can plan your trips more intensely. The beautiful landscape along the way makes your travel to each destination worthwhile.

Among the 31 cultural tourism attractions and 19 natural tourism beauties, try to make sure that you visit Borobudur, Prambanan Temple and silver handicraft in Kotagede.

A visit to Jogja is never complete without experiencing Malioboro street. Rows of shops and outlets sell many kinds of souvenirs you can bring back home. If you want to test your negotiation skills you can try The Haggling Game with the street vendors. Alls fair in love and shopping.

Aside from rich and well preserved cultural heritages, the charming royal city of Yogyakarta is also surrounded by loads of natural splendors. From the majestic volcano of Mount Merapi to the shores of Parangtritis Beach on the mystical southern coast of Java, this lush area is decorated with various beautiful nature artworks. Secluded amongst the Sewu Karst Mountain range that stretches from Gombong Regency in Central Java to Pacitan Regency in East Java, lies a cave that offers not only magnificent sceneries but also exciting adventure: the Jomblang Cave.

While it may not be that familiar for common tourists, among cave enthusiasts, nature trekkers and backpackers the cave has gained popularity for its outstanding beauty. In 2011, the cave was further introduced to the world as it made an appearance as one of the sites on the CBS TV reality game show, The Amazing Race.

Jomblang Cave is in fact one of hundreds of Caves  found within Gunug Kidul. The cave is a vertical collapse doline type which was formed by the geological process when the soil and all vegetations on it plunged beneath the surface of the earth some thousands of years ago. The collapse created a sinkhole of  approximately 50 meters in diameter which became the mouth of the cave.

To descend down Jomblang Cave, one must have sufficient caving ability, particularly the Single Rope Technique (SRT) or using single rope to ascend and descend vertically. Cavers can choose from 4 different tracks with varying heights. The first is known as the VIP track which features 15 meters of a “walkable” steep slope followed by about 20 meters SRT descend. This track is known as the most common and easiest, hence the name VIP. Other 3 tracks present higher challenges since visitors must descend the SRT line from higher altitudes: 80 meters for track A, 60 meters for Track B, and 40 meters for track C.

While the trip down to the bottom of the cave offers more than unforgettable adventure, the grand prize awaits down below at the bottom of the cave. Since sunshine can still penetrate the floor of the cave, amazingly one can find lush large trees and also mosses, ferns, and shrubs decorating the cave’s interior. This so called primeval forest is formed by the initial vegetations that continue to grow after its plunge episode and have attained great age without significant disturbance, thereby exhibiting unique ecological features.

500 meters away from the base of Jomblang through the natural corridor, more fascination awaits at the base of Grubug Cave. Here, two huge green-brownish stalagmites stand fascinatingly on the cave’s floor. Around high noon, the sunshine penetrating the eternal darkness creates an amazing spectacle that is unlikely found elsewhere. The beautiful ray of light from the top of the cave that illuminates stalactites and stalagmites as well as the cave floor is so fascinating that some even call it heavenly light.

North to the stalagmite boulder one can find an underwater river. During the dry season, one can explore this river by using rubber boat following the current. The river connects  the base of Grubug Cave with several other caves within the Karst Mountain Range. However, during the wet season the current tends to be strong and the water level significantly increases. Thus, boating in the wet season is not advisable.