Do not misunderstand it; Green Canyon is not the same with Grand Canyon, the famous natural destination in Amerika. This Green Canyon is located in Pangandaran area, West Java, Indonesia. This tourists’ destination which originally named Cukang Taneuh, offers beautiful panorama and fresh natural ambience which are worthy to be visited. Besides that, the nature in the area of this place is very attractive to be explored.
The original name of this place is Cukang Taneuh which means soil bridge. That name was used because on top of the valley and canyon there is a bridge made of soil with 3 meters width and 40 meters length connecting Kertayasa Village and Batukaras Village. This bridge is usually crossed by the local residents and farmers to go to their farm. The name Green Canyon was started to be popular after it was used by a Frenchman for referring this place in 1993.
Green Canyon is exactly located in Kertayasa Village, Cijulang District, Ciamis, West Java, around 31 kilometers from area of Pangandaran. This tourism object consists of natural river flow from Cijulang River which goes through a cave with beautiful stalactite and stalagmite. The location of the cave is in between two green and rocky hills.
For visiting Green Canyon, you must follow the flow of Cijulang River by boat which is called ketinting. This small boat could only accommodate maximum 5 passengers and could be rented fro Rp 75,000 per boat. The time needed until arriving at Green Canyon is approximately 30 minutes.
While crossing through Cijulang RIver, you will be able to see the beauty of rocky canyons grown by trees. The trip will not be boring because of the beautiful panorama along the river. When approaching the location of Green Canyon, the river width will be getting narrower so the boat must go in turn to pass. Near the cave entrance, the kelinting boat will be left because the route is not passable by any boat. In this place the water color is blue means that it is very clean and clear. In the entrance of the cave you will also see a waterfall named palatar which could make the air freshen. Usually, the tourists do various activities here such as rock climbing, swimming, or fishing. From here, you can continue your exploration by swimming or crawling on the rock wall. Buoys are available for them who choose swimming. Exploring the canyon by swimming is totally safe even for children equipped with buoy and guided by adults or the guide.
Amazing panorama will await you after entering the cave. Along the cave you could see water dropping stalactites and stalagmites on the wall of the firm and rocky cave. Because of the non-stop drips inside the cave, this area is also called as the area of eternal rain. You can also swim inside the cave by using buoy because using this way means that you can feel the freshness of the water.
The river flowing in this area is quite far so the tourists could enjoy the exploration as much as they wish. Besides enjoying the view over the water, apparently the tourists could also enjoy the beauty of underwater panorama. Green Canyon is good enough for a diving spot because of its beautiful scenery, such as underwater caves or basins and various friendly fish swimming around the area. For you who love to do some extreme actions, you can try to jump from a big rock with 5 meters height into the depth water below.
Green Canyon or Cukang Taneuh is indeed a good place to be visited in Pangandaran Area. However, if you are planning to visit this place it is suggested that you go here in the dry season because the water here will be very beautiful with the color of turquoise. However if you visit this place in the wet/rainy season, the water will be brown and muddy. Besides that, tidal streams might happen especially at the time when the rainfall is high. When this moment occurs, this place is usually closed for public.
If you want to visit and explore this place, the location is not really hard to be found. From Jakarta or Bandung, you could follow the route heading to Central Java passing Tasik – Ciamis – Banjar – Pangandaran. Meanwhile, the visitors from East Java or Central Java could take the route heading to West Java passing Purworejo – Kebumen – Wangon – Banjar – Pangandaran – Ciamis. For the visitors from the other places of Indonesia, you could choose the starting points mentioned above.