Natural curtains the attraction of Gong Cave
Natural curtains the attraction of Gong Cave
PACITAN (Antara): In an East Java village, a cave once avoided for being haunted, draws scores of local and foreign tourists.
Gong Cave is in the Bomo village of Punung district, Pacitan. Its beauty lies in its natural "paintings", formed by water dripping down its walls, the white-brownish hues of stalactites and stalagmites and a lake in the middle. The rocks glow in the sunlight.
Upon entering the cave, visitors are free to interpret its paintings.
Senior resident Wakino has seen "curtains flying in the wind, cassava, flower buds and banana trees".
The cave has attracted Swiss musicians. A concert with Indonesian musicians was performed in the cave last September.
Gong Cave is only one of many spectacular caves in Pacitan, a rocky and mountainous area with dozens of caves. In Gong Cave, which is about 200 meters long, visitors venture from one enclosed space to another with its several natural "baths". In a neighboring village is Putri (Princess) Cave, where bathers believe they will gain eternal youth from its water.
Gong Cave became popular after a resident, Wakino, discovered it in March 1995. He said he was exploring it with friends despite villagers' talk that it was haunted.
"My grandfather told me he once found water here during a drought," he said. The shunned cave turned out to be beautiful, and the local administration awarded Wakino a certificate.
The cave is no longer shunned. The administration immediately saw its tourism potential and built facilities worth Rp 77 million to enable easier access to the cave. Though spelunkers and speleologists may less appreciate the challenge, the administration saw it necessary to assist visitors with stairs, handrails, lighting and a few benches.
Other facilities built were a mosque, better access roads and a parking area.
Visitors can travel from Surakarta through Wonogiri and enter the site from the Wonogiri-Pacitan crossroad in Punung. Another route is Ponorogo-Pacitan-Wonogiri and then Punung.
Reflecting on Gong Cave's name, Wakino said earlier residents said it was from the sound of a gong, which they believed came from a spirit. He and his friends later found this to be the stalagmites and stalactites.
"It was exactly like what we hear in a gamelan... sometimes the gong sound was interrupted by very sad crying sounds."
Other caves in the same district include Tabuhan Cave (similarly named because of "music sounds"), in which residents and gamelan lovers claim they can identify various traditional gending (songs). Twenty-five kilometers away is Jaran Cave, which is three hectares in size. So far, there have been 65 caves discovered in Pacitan to satisfy cave lovers.