Bogor - Travel and Places

Travel and Places

On a national tourism exhibition of 2010 in Jakarta, Bogor was recognized as the most attractive tourist city of Indonesia. The city and its surrounding area are visited by about 1.8 million people per year, of whom more than 60,000 are foreigners. The main tourist attraction is the Bogor Botanical Garden. Founded in 1817, it contains more than 6,000 species of tropical plants. Besides, about 42 bird species breed within the garden, although this number is declining and was 62 before 1952. The garden's 87-hectare area within the city was supplemented in 1866 by a 120-hectare park in suburban town of Cibodas. Much of the original rainforest was preserved within the garden providing specimens for scientific studes. Besides, the garden was enriched by collections of palms, bamboos, cacti, orchids and ornamental trees. It became famous in the late 19th century and was visited by naturalists from abroad to conduct scientific research. For example, the Russian St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences had a Buitenzorg scholarship for young scientists to work at Bogor. The staff of Bogor garden also administer three other major gardens of Iindonesia: the Cibodas Botanical Garden founded 1862 in West Java, the Purwodadi Botanical Garden in East Java and the Eka Karya Botanical Garden founded in 1959 on Bali island.

Another tourist attraction is the presidential palace with the total area of 28 hectares, including 1.8492 hectares of the palace buildings. The palace is surrounded by a park with a small pond. The park is home to a herd of tame deer and is open to the public most of the year. The palace is accessible during holidays, such as the City Day and Independence Day; it has a collection of 450 paintings and 360 sculptures.

The city and its suburbs contain dozens of medieval stone stelae (prasasti). Fifteen prasasti of the greatest historical and cultural value are collected in a special pavilion in the district of Batutulis. In the western part of Bogor there is a large lake Gede (area 6 hectares) surrounded by the reserved forest area and a forest park. In the protected area there are several research facilities, and the recreation areas host sports activities, boating and fishing.

On the territory of the botanic garden, there is a cemetery established in 1784. It contains 42 historical graves of the Dutch colonial officials, military officers and scientists, who served in Bogor, Jakarta and other cities in West Java from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Nearby, there are three graves of the early Sunda Kingdom (15th century): the wife of the founder of Bogor Silivangi, Galuh Mangku Alam, vizier Ba'ul and commander Japra. The locals regard these individuals as the city's patrons. Other historical places are the Bogor Cathedral – built in 1750, it is one of the oldest operational Catholic Churches in Indonesia, and the Buddhist temple Hok Tek Bio, built in 1672 in the classical South Chinese style. It is the first Buddhist temple of Bogor and one of the oldest in Indonesia.

Nearby is the Jaksa Waterfall.