Indonesia is a beautiful country, and it’s still to date. There are many tourist resorts that people can find in this country; one of them is Dieng Plateau. It is an active volcano complex situated in Wonosobo, Central Java. It takes about four hours to reach this place from Semarang, the capital city of Central Java Province. This resort offers unforgettable beautiful scenery but also historical sites.

Dieng Plateau is a unique resort that sits at around 2000 meters above sea level. The name of Dieng is originally come from Sanskrit language; “Di” means a very high place, meanwhile “hyang” means gods. So, the combination of the two words means a very high place in which the gods stay. Dieng is a highland with a cold temperature which is unusual for a tropical country like Indonesia. The temperature during the day is about 15-20 Celsius degree, meanwhile at night the temperature reaches 10 Celsius degree. It even reaches 0 Celsius degrees in the morning and often causes frozen fog, which can destroy plants.

Along the journey to reach the resort, we can see beautiful scenery. All the landscapes look so green. As Dieng Plateau is a high land, when we have a journey there it would be felt as we are on the clouds. It is very fantastic! Dieng volcano complex is actually an extensive assemblage of spatially, temporally, and genetically related major and minor volcanic centers with the associated lava flows and pyroclastic rocks. It’s a highland with volcano activities under the surface. Dieng Plateau is actually a complex of calderas with mountains surround it. Those calderas produce poisonous effusions, vapors, and even volcano materials which are very dangerous.

There are some resort sites in Dieng Plateau, including calderas and volcano lakes. Some of the calderas are Candradimuka, Sibanteng, Siglagah, Sikendang, Sikidang, Sileri, Sinila, and Timbang. Sikendang, Sinila, and Timbang calderas have potentially produce high poisonous gas. There was even a gas explosion of Sinila Caldera in 1979 that caused 149 people lost their lives. Those people were dead because of the carbon dioxide produced by the explosion. There was also a gas explosion occurred in Sibanteng Caldera in 2009. The explosion was also followed by mud explosion that caused a landslide and destroyed farming area surrounded that place. Because of that explosion, Dieng Plateau had to be closed for several days to anticipate the spread of poisonous gas.

Meanwhile, the most popular volcano lake is the Telaga Warna or Colored Lake. It is a lake which has some colors. Sometimes it looks green, blue, or purple. This site is very popular among the tourists. Other volcano lakes exist in these resorts are Telaga Cebon, Telaga Merdada, Telaga Pengilon, Telaga Dringo, and Telaga Nila.

Beside of its beautiful scenery, this active volcano complex is also well known for its historical sites. There is a complex of old Hindu temple in this area, which includes Arjuna temple, Semar temple, Srikandi temple, Puntadewa temple, and Sembadra temple. Those temples were built in 750 CE to honor Batara Siwa, the god of the destroyer.

By Amin Cheng