Potatoes blight beauty of Dieng plateau

Text and photos by P.J. Leo

DIENG, Central Java (JP): White mists, the slaves of the wind, meander to and fro in the morning and afternoon and envelop the hills through which the winding road passes, adding to the charm of the Dieng plateau, a cool, nay, cold and mysterious area.

With temperatures averaging about 15 degrees Celsius during the day and falling to 10 degrees Celsius at night, the Dieng plateau resembles Peru or Tibet more than tropical Java. In June, July and August, the temperature can sometimes plummet to below zero at night.

The charm of the plateau is provided by steaming craters which add to the site's magical and scientific value, small temples dating from the Hindu era many centuries ago, lakes, and the green carpet of foliage covering the Dieng mountain range towering up to 2,093 meters above sea level.

The name Dieng is derived from the Sanskrit word compound dihyang, meaning a location high up in the mountains where the gods have their abode, a reflection of the magical world of Hindu belief which explains the presence of the many temples in the area.

Home to outstanding natural beauty and a myriad of wonders, Dieng has yet to be professionally managed as a tourist destination. It is much less well-known in the international arena than other tourist attractions in Java, such as Bromo, Merapi, Borobudur and Prambanan, as it has yet to be seriously promoted.

"Nature seems to be discriminatory if a comparison is made between the Dieng plateau and Mount Merapi (2,968 meters) in terms of tourism," said Pudjonggo Kristiawan, head of the Wonosobo tourist office.

"Tourists, especially those from abroad, keep coming to Mount Merapi even though the volcano is currently active. Unfortunately, here the tourists seem to take to their heels the moment they hear that there is a crater on the Dieng plateau that emits potentially dangerous mud and gasses. As a result, beautiful Dieng has failed to attract tourists," said Pudjonggo jokingly at a food stall in Dieng. "Tourists should not miss out on visiting Dieng if they are in Central Java because of its great charm and beauty," Pudjonggo added.

Located on the border between Wonosobo and Banjarnegara districts, Central Java, Dieng is exhaustively exploited by the locals, most of whom grow potatoes.

As a result, locals now grow potatoes very close to the location of the temples. In some places, out-of-keeping structures have been built, including a number of auxiliary installations for a geothermal power plant.

Gone is the wonder of Telaga Warna (the colored lake), which used to have crystal clear water that presented a kaleidoscope of colors when seen from afar. Today, Telaga Warna and some of the other lakes in the area, which, it was believed, fairies used to bathe in, are now muddy brown as the potato growers pump the water from the lakes to irrigate their potato plots, potatoes today being the main commodity produced on the Dieng plateau.

"Isn't the Indonesian government really serious about taking care of these temples, which were built so many centuries ago, and why are these farmers allowed to use the land for growing their potatoes so close to the temples? Don't these activities disturb the tourists?" Carlos Bobby Dharan, a Malaysian tourist asked the Post. "The Dieng panorama is really wonderful. The air is clean and cool, but why aren't there any mature trees on those hills? Aren't you afraid of erosion," he asked again, adding that he could not understand why the lake was so turbid.

Meanwhile, Sylvi Dharan, Bobby's wife, expressed her worries, mixed with admiration, while observing the potato growers move nimbly along the steep slopes of the hills. "Look ... how agilely they move along those steep slopes. Aren't they afraid of falling? she said, apparently mesmerized by the movement of the potato growers scaling the hills with sacks of manure on their shoulders.

"The scenery here is really amazing. The farmers now grow potatoes in terraces down the slopes of the hills. Unfortunately, because of the potato growing, the hills in Dieng are completely denuded of trees," she added.

It was in the 1980s that the beautiful Dieng plateau began to change its face. The local people, who until then only grew some vegetables, corn and, once in a while, tobacco, began to cultivate potatoes, following the example set by many other West Java farmers.

Tourists revisiting Dieng after a few years can easily notice the changes in the area. In addition to the disappearance of the mature trees and colorful flowers, a foul odor now pervades the plateau.

Potato growers spread manure on their crops right along the roadside. Because of the smell, many tourists prefer not to lower their car windows, or even step out of their cars.

"Dieng has completely changed now, especially because of the bad smell from the manure," agreed Yati and Titi, two tourists from Jakarta. "The place is now filthy and evil-smelling, not like it was a few years ago," they added.

"Many tourists have complained about the manure but the egotism of the local people is great that they won't even talk about the problem," said Susmono, an elementary school teacher hailing from Muntilan, Central Java, who has lived for 18 years in Dieng.

"If the locals could nurture some kind of local pride, Dieng would be visited by a lot of foreign and domestic tourists, just like other tourist destinations across the country," added Susmono, a food stall owner.

To the potato growers, Dieng is their dream land. They are ready to do anything to keep this land to themselves for potato growing. That's why the forest has been cleared, trees felled, and the land turned into horticultural land for potato growing.

Wonosobo, some 30 kilometers to the southwest, is the nearest major town where you can catch a bus to Dieng. You can also travel to the cool plateau by bus from Purwokerto, about 100 kilometers to the southwest.