Dieng Plateu (The Strange Beauty of Java)

Early January 2011, I brought my family to visit Dieng in Wonosobo before they spent their school holiday in their grandma village.

Located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, Dieng community should be grateful for the abundance of wealth which conferred upon their beautiful and exotic land. The cold weather has led to the unique style of dress of its people. Temperatures during the day ranged between 15-20 degrees Celsius while in the night between 10 degrees Celsius. Dieng name derived from Sanskrit language which is "di" means the place and "hyang" means Gods. Overall Dieng can be defined as a place of the Gods. While the residents said Dieng derived from the word "edi" which means beautiful in the Java language, and "aeng" meaning strange. In other words Dieng is a beautiful place with a lot of ddities.

Despite centuries of sleep, Dieng has several volcanic craters that are still active until now. One of the most interesting is Sikidang Crater, a heaven for sulfur miners which supposedly likes to jump and move. Sikidang Crater gives another nuance on Dieng’s natural beauty. Fresh green landscape suddenly vanished as we entered this crater complex. As far as the eye could see, there was just a barren stretch of land surrounded by hills with a smoky pond on the other side. A few meters from the entrance there is a warning sign for you to be careful in moving, as well as a fire ban and throwing cigarette butts.

Dieng has an extraordinary natural and cultural wealth. One of the icons is Telaga Warna (the Colorful Lake), a beautiful lake with natural forest around it. Hidden among the rows of hills at an altitude of more than 2000 meters above sea level does not make Telaga Warna (the Colorful Lake) lack of visitors. Its beauty and mystery always attract anyone who visits Dieng. The sound of the wild birds chirped and the thick forest which is wild maintained present a reassuring atmosphere of peace.

Across the street of Complex Candi Arjuna, on the slopes of a hill stood a museum called the Kaliasa Museum. There are 4 buildings in which two showrooms functioned to display variety of objects and artifacts of historical heritage. Most items on display are statues and stones from the complex of temples in Dieng. The most interesting item is the three-headed Shiva statue often referred as Shiva Trisirah. Shiva Trisirah is known as the oldest form of worship to Shiva. In addition, the museum is also displaying various information about the typical life of the indigenous Dieng people, traditional arts, as well as information about the phenomenal of the dreadlocks children. There is also a theater space to play the documentary film about Dieng’s natural and cultural potential that would be played for at least a 10-visitors group.