Lake Ngebel offers nature in all beautiful splendor

Lake Ngebel offers nature in all beautiful splendor

Kartika Bagus C., Contributor, Lake Ngebel, East Java

There are big plans for Lake Ngebel which are designed to
capitalize on its natural beauty and the rich cultural history of
the area.

Located about 734 meters above sea level, Lake Ngebel in
Ngebel district is about an hour's drive by bus or some 25 km
from Ponorogo's town center.

You can get there from Ponorogo for less than Rp 5,000 on the
many public transportation vehicles headed to the popular resort.
Please make sure, however, that you do not visit too late in the
afternoon as the early evening mist will prevent you from
enjoying the beauty of the lake.

Situated at the foot of Mount Wilis, the lake greatest
offering is its charming natural scenery. The air is cool and
unpolluted, and the visitor gets to enjoy nature at its best
here.

A 5-km-long path encircles the lake to enable tourists to walk
around it and enjoy the view of its bluish water. There are
lodging facilities, restaurants and a camp ground in the
surrounding woods.

In terms of natural beauty, Lake Ngebel is as alluring as
other lakes that dot Java, but its added attraction is that it
has not been built up or over-commercialized, the downfall of so
many tourist facilities.

Thick forest grows on the hill surrounding the lake,
accentuating its beauty. A colony of monkeys, now dwindling in
number because some visitors trap them as pets, leap from one
tree to another.

Ngebel is being prepared this year to become a prime tourist
area for Ponorogo. The head of the Ponorogo tourism agency,
Sartono, said that a stage for art performances was under
construction for use by local cultural groups.

"We are cooperating with the local educational service to
present cultural programs on Sundays and on public holidays.
These programs include Reog, Gambyong (an East Javanese dance),
Campursari (modern Javanese music) and Hadrah (Islamic music),"
he said.

The local branch of state forestry company Inhutani is
planning to build a small zoo in the lake area. The
administration will provide street lights in the area so that
people can come to enjoy its sights even at night.

The peak event of all tourism programs at Lake Ngebel will be
the celebration of Suro, the New Year on the Javanese calendar,
which will fall this year in March. On this day, locals will take
offerings to be thrown into the middle of the lake as a token of
gratitude to God for all of His blessings, especially a good
harvest, in a ceremony called larungan.

It is believed that the offerings will be collected and
accepted by the spirits guarding the lake.

One of the elders in Ngebel, Budihardjo, 72, said that the
modern offerings ceremony was first performed in the early 1990s
on Muharram, the first day of the first month on the Javanese
calendar.

The uba rampe, or the paraphernalia for the rite, consist of
brown rice and a white chicken, both placed into a box, and a
gunungan, a mountain-shaped glutinous rice arrangement surrounded
by different types of fruit.

"This gunungan is something additional. It has been included
only recently to attract tourists to watch the Suro celebration,"
said Budihardjo.

This rite to thank God for His blessings seems to work in
Ngebel, which is famous for its fruits, especially its large and
sweet durian, coffee and cloves.

The larungan rite starts with the procession of the gunungan
and uba rampe around the lake. This is done to show onlookers the
offerings to be thrown into the lake and also to attract them to
come to the site of the rite.

They will then be able to enjoy a variety of arts
performances, particularly the Reog and gajah-gajahan, an art
performance in which someone rides on an elephant-shaped effigy
to the accompaniment of gamelan music. These are Ponorogo's main
arts attractions.

After a communal prayer, the leaders of the ritual will get
into a small boat to carry the offerings to be thrown into the
lake. Uniquely, when this happens, darkness will descend around
the lake area, even though it is still during daylight hours,
followed by drizzle, a sign for those who believe it that God has
accepted the offerings.

As the offerings ceremony is an annual event which can attract
a lot of tourists to Lake Ngebel, the local administration must
ensure that additional facilities for tourists are available,
especially ones that allow them to enjoy bathing in the cool lake
waters.