Have you ever wondered how the ancient royals lived their day-to-day lives?
The Javanese royals and their lives were a mark of the Indonesian glory days. They amassed wealth and built amazing temples that some of you have seen in my posts. Their temples and heritage stood still today. And their lives have been a curiosity to some, including myself. The past civilization of Indonesia is something that I don’t think many know. Only a handful of people interested in history would understand how majestic the ancient past time was. And there’s a lot of lessons to be taken from these civilizations. In recent times, we can only see and enjoy these civilizations either from the remnants, museums, and parks filled with statues and miniatures. Lembah tumpang is one of the mini miniatures that displays the glory of javanese past times.
Though its name when translated to English is Tumpang Valley, it's not an actual valley. Lembah tumpang is a resort and swimming pool located in tumpang, malang east java. To get into the place, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the traffic. Malang can be quite congested as their roads are typically smaller and densely populated compared to some cities in java. But once you get to Tumpang, the congestion and the waiting becomes really worth it. The place is arguably one of the most beautiful places to visit in East Java.I would personally place this resort in my top 5 destinations to visit in East Java other than Mt Bromo and Ijen Crater.
Lembah tumpang was first built in 2014 on an area of 20 hecrates. As surrounding the city there was an ancient kingdom called Majapahit and Singhasari, many of its statues and buildings are inspired to relive the lives during that era. Though their official website doesn’t mention any specific kingdom but the toppest part of the temple is a typical singhasari and majapahit temples.
To get into the place, the entrance fee is 60.000IDR/person and that includes all pool facilities and also a map that you can bring around to guide you exploring this 20hectares place. Without this map, it will be easy to get lost among this massive park and pools. From the ticketing and the office, you can bring the car inside and park nearby the resorts that are close to the gazebo and the cottage.
Let's Go !
The first statue that you will notice around the gazebo is the statue of lord Ganesh. And as you walk further, there will be more statues that will welcome you to a temple that was beautifully constructed and serves as a woodcraft museum. The temple is one of the main attractions in this place. It is surrounded by an artificial lake and beds of water lilies. When I visited there, there was some pre-wedding photoshoot.
In this place, there are so many statues that sometimes you can not identify them. There are plenty of deities in Hinduism and also the kings and the queen from the ancient javanese royal families.
It was a really hot day when my mom and I explored the place. We were really stunned to see the place is amazing and we loved how it was organized. We first head to the front of the temple as if we discovered something new. When we were inside the place, it felt magical and mystical. We didn’t walk around the lake but went to the left side and explored a park with various statues. My mom took pictures in front of the statue and I was taking some of the statues' pictures for my future references. Even after visiting so many temples in Java, I still can not identify all the statues except the famous ones.
We circled the place and found out that there is an artificial lake. At that point, we were so confused and lost. Even after looking at the map, we still didn’t know where we were. This place can feel like a maze. So, all you have to do is walk and remember where you first entered the place. Since we bought koi food at the ticketing, we wanted to circle the artificial lake that has koi fish and other fishes inside of it. There were quite a bit of mosquitoes. So always use mosquito repellent when exploring around the area. At that point too, we didn’t know that the temple had more statues and the sides. It looked amazing from where we stood so we wanted to explore the surrounding temple one more time before trying to find the swimming pool that was said to be amazing.
But before reaching the temple, my mom spotted a moon orchid and an ancient transportation called “gerobak”. This is usually powered by ox or cows. The moon orchid is also available on this post moon orchid.
The fishes that we feed.
And before we reached the temple, we suddenly got lost in a pool. It was such an amazing view of the pool that we consider this place a truly hidden gem. The water looks very fresh and pristine. Apparently according to the map, there is a waterfall in this place too. But that day, we couldn’t get there. Not only waterfalls, there are raftings and camping grounds too. Would you camp in this place?
Swimming Pools
In this place there are about 6 pools with different aesthetics. We only got to one and it was already amazing. We plan to go back to this place soon and explore everything, not just one pool and the surrounding area.Next to the pool there is a small garden with a lot of statues. And there is also a sign that will show you all the places that you can go.
The geese in this place are also wild. But they look friendly. So, you don’t have to be afraid.
Now, the big question, the road that could lead to more pools. But since we’re really short on time and have to attend my cousin’s wedding, we got back to the temple. You don’t have to worry about food when in this place. There are plenty cafetaria around as well.
In this place, every step you take will be accompanied by statues. The overall statues placement are great and quite aesthetic.
Temple and the surrounding
The temple is surrounded by plenty of statues as well. The temple itself is carved with statues. Though there’s no relief in the temple, it was really just as beautiful as the other ancient temples.
My mom said that if we explored all the places, it may take up to 3 hours with over 500 photos on my camera. But that day, we just explored a tiny part of the place and I have over 300 photos.
The place is really a hidden gem. Not many people know this place which was why it was rather empty. Not to mention, usually people these days have less interest towards anything that’s ancient. But the pools in this place really make up for it.
And before we leave the place, I took pictures of Hindu mythical animals that are located nearby the temple.
Even right after I reached the parking lot, there’s still some more places to be. But, my mom already dragged me to the car and we have to leave for the wedding.
This place is really awesome as a photographer. Even if you are an influencer, you can get so many beautiful shots around this area. The ticket that we paid was really worth it because after circling this place, we felt rejuvenated. We also got to see an interesting statues and a beautiful pool.
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 | Mac is a jack of all trades. A typical introvert in love with literature, books, technology and philosophy. She is also so into nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |