Cave Exploration in Central Java
I still remember the first time I went on a cave exploration in Central Java. I was just 6 years old. I remember feeling very excited as it was Lunar New Year and I was just about to get my first red pocket of the day! Feeling uncertain of how much money I would be getting, I felt indifferent about the upcoming cave adventure.
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Because I was too little back then, I was not allowed to follow my father and our guide when they entered the deeper part of the cave. When my father asked me to go out of the cave, I was like “WTF!” Of course, that’s not true. I only knew what “WTF” means 5 years ago (thanks to online gaming) but I remembered crying and begging on my knees, asking if I could come along. Well, no luck, I was led out of the cave.
Twenty years later, I’m a full grown man and I decided to go back to the same cave I wasn’t allowed to explore before.
The name of this hidden gem cave is Gua Petruk. Located in Central Java, about 3 hours drive from Yogyakarta; Gua Petruk is still in its pristine condition. Unlike Gua Jatijajar – a neighboring cave heavily packed with local tourists, Gua Petruk is intentionally kept in its natural condition for research purposes. It is a dark yet extraordinary cave to explore.
It is called Gua Petruk for a reason. Petruk, as some of you may already know, is a character in the famous Wayang Kulit play. One of the stalactites in this cave looks like Petruk with his long nose and thus, the cave is named after him.
I was so excited to come back and to explore Gua Petruk again. And the timing of my visit couldn’t be better. There was hardly anybody else there except me, my fellow travelers, the guides and a few locals. I came at the right time because it was after a long school holiday in Indonesia in early August.
We started going into the cave and I started to have a flash of memories. The cave was slippery and it was dark yet it was exhilarating. The only light source that we had was an old petromax lantern carried by the guide. We even saw a huge frog that is said to be the resident of the cave.
Gua Petruk offers an amazing vista of stalactites and stalagmites. Resembling many things in our everyday lives, the stalactites and stalagmites took hundreds of years to be shaped they are now. These variations include “Batu Payudara” or breast stone and alligator stone.
It was definitely a worthy visit and I finally managed to get into the deeper parts of the cave after so many years. Gua Petruk is truly an exciting adventure travel in Indonesia. It tops my list of places to visit and I’m certainly coming back again next year to fully explore the cave.
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