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Brilio.net/en - Maybe this isnt your first time visiting Yogyakarta, but this special region has so many to offer. Besides its famous Borobudur and Prambanan temples, Merapi volcano and Kaliurang highlands, Yogyakarta keeps its best scenic destinations in the South, in the Bantul district to be precise. You may have been to the famous Parangtritis and Parangkusumo beaches too, but may have never been to Goa Pindul.
The name of Goa Pindul comes from the era of the Mataram kingdom, where the founder of the kingdom, Panembahan Senopati, ordered two of his advisors to kill a baby. The old men didnt have the heart to kill the baby and hid him instead. They took care of the baby and brought him to the South Mountains (Gunung Kidul). At one place, they stopped and bathe the baby. Ki Juru Mertani, one of the advisors, stepped on a rock and a hole was made from the flowing water beneath. He took the baby to the river and accidently hit the babys cheek onto the rock. This was how the place got its name. In Javanese, pipi means cheek and kebendhul means accidently hit. The acronym of the phrase became Pindul, while Goa means cave.
Located in Bejiharjo village, Karangmojo sub-district in the middle of Gunung Kidul, this tourist destination consists of a Goa Pindul cave tubing tour and Goa Gelatik cave tour. There are tour companies that run the water tours around Goa Pindul. Youll need to sign up for a tour and theyll equip each of you with a life vest, a pair of rubber shoes, and an inner tube. They provide transportation to get you from one place to another, and the first stop will be the Goa Pindul. You will need to sit on the tube, so be sure you are ready to get really wet.
The cave itself is 350 meters long and approximately 5 meters wide. The water runs 5-12 meters deep and the distance from water surface to the ceiling is 4 meters. Entering the cave, the tour guide will lead you through the current, explaining all different shapes and names of the stalactite and stalagmite that formed inside the cave. Some of the ceilings are now home to two different kinds of batsthe ones that eat fruit and the ones that eat insects.
The cave has three different zones, which are the light zone, dim zone and obscure or dark zone. At one point you will see a hole in the cave ceiling. This is believed to be the hole that was made by Ki Juru Mertani many years ago. It is the hole that is used by the SAR team to get vertically into the cave to rescue people when the river floods.
Along the way you will encounter a stalactite that is believed to give male vitality to men who touch it, and a stalagmite that gives beauty and youth for women who get the drops of its water. Another stalactite and stalagmite meet in the middle and becomes a giant pillar, named Soko Guru, which means a support. This is the biggest stalactite in the cave and rated as number 4 worldwide. It takes approximately 45 minutes to float along the whole cave. You can swim in the light zone, for the base is shallow and the water is clear.
Finishing the tour, you can go tubing in the current along the Oyo River. Different with rafting, the current is calmer so you do not need to row, just float along. Dont forget to face backwards while you go with the flow, as the scenery is very beautiful. At some points you can climb the rock and jump, or feel the strength of the waterfalls.
Not far from the Goa Pindul, there is Goa Gelatik. It is another very beautiful stalactite cave, narrow at some places but wide in others. The cave used to be a place where people meditate, but nowadays people dont longer meditate, therefore it has become a tourism destination. For the cave tour, they provide safety helmet and headlamp, along with hiking shoes.
Both of the tours are suitable for any age. The Goa Pindul tour costs IDR 50,000 per person, including the equipment, tour guide and insurance, while Goa Gelatik tour costs IDR 30,000 per person. The retribution fee to get into the area is IDR 10,000 per person, so it is a pretty affordable and fun activity for the whole family. Check this site if youre interested in booking your tour.
Source:http://goapindul.com/
(brl/tis)
