Kedunghalang: Saung Alkesa on the Ciliwung

In Kedunghalang, Saung Alkesa is a place for recreation and education on the banks of the Ciliwung. Residents redesigned the riverbank in the Kedung Halang area, Kecamatan Bogor Utara, Kota Bogor. They turned a relatively small site into a hut called Saung Alkesa. Community-led design and use of the riverbank are therefore just as much a local focus as practical educational activities.

Saung Alkesa: Learning and recreation by the river

There are more than ten biopori holes at Saung Alkesa. You can try using them yourself, so the educational activity involves more than just explanations and also includes hands-on experimentation. If you are interested in practical environmental education, this is one concrete aspect of Saung Alkesa. Camping is another way to use Saung Alkesa.

The individual features complement one another: residents transformed a relatively small site into a hut, the riverbank became a place for recreation and education, and the biopori holes offer a hands-on activity. Saung Alkesa can therefore be understood as a local focal point with several facets, rather than viewed only as a riverbank or a hut.

Bogor: Gardens, collections, and history

The wider destination of Bogor offers other nature- and culture-related topics. Bogor Botanical Gardens was founded in 1817 by the Dutch colonial government and is the oldest botanical garden in Southeast Asia. The gardens include Taman Meksiko, with more than 100 plant species from dry climates, including agaves, yuccas, cacti, and other succulents. The collection offers a botanical focus that differs thematically from the hands-on educational activities at Saung Alkesa.

The Museum Zoologi is also located within Bogor Botanical Gardens and was founded in 1894. Its 122 exhibitions showcase 954 Indonesian animal species; these collection figures may change. The museum has the world’s largest collection of mammal skeletons. It includes a blue whale, which is now considered the museum’s landmark. Alongside plants, Bogor thus also offers animal species and zoological collections as distinct areas of interest.

Bogor’s landscapes include Istana Kepresidenan Bogor in Kota Bogor. The palace grounds cover about 28.86 hectares. Situ Gede in Kota Bogor covers six hectares and is part of efforts to conserve the landscape and control flooding. The two places point to different aspects of the city: the palace grounds to a large complex, and Situ Gede to landscape conservation and water management.

Bogor’s history can also be explored through various sites. The PETA Museum and Monument has 769 exhibits as well as dioramas about the founding of PETA and its role in the independence struggle. Prasasti Batutulis is considered a sign of the Pajajaran Kingdom’s heyday and an important landmark for Kota Bogor and Jawa Barat. The topics therefore range from a historical inscription to an exhibition about PETA and the independence struggle.

Walking paths, climate, and Asinan in Bogor

Take a walk along the paved paths in Bogor Botanical Gardens. Another regional specialty is Asinan, a dish typical of Bogor made with fruit and vegetables and available from street vendors and in souvenir shops. Bogor’s climate also differs from that of the Jakarta metropolitan area: Bogor is cooler. The wider destination of Bogor thus offers natural history, historical, and culinary themes alongside Kedunghalang’s local focus.

For a thematic overview, the main areas of interest can be distinguished: in Kedunghalang, the focus is on Saung Alkesa, designed by residents, and hands-on experimentation with the biopori holes. Bogor broadens the picture with botany, zoology, landscape conservation, history, and Asinan.

Discover more destinations: Sukaraja, Rumpin, Caringin, Citeureup, Bogor, Cisarua

Back to the main travel overview: Bogor.