Dieng Plateau or Highland is located in Central Java, Indonesia which offers not only exquisite natural beauty but also historical legacies. Here, you can still find some ruins of Hindu Temples that was built back in the 8th Century by a dynasty named Sanjaya.
Dieng Plateau is pretty popular for local tourists, especially those who seek for weekend getaway from Jakarta. There are bunch of trip organizers that run weekly trips to Dieng with reasonable prices.
How to get to Dieng Plateau
You can take buses from Jakarta or Jogjakarta to Dieng. The journey takes about 12 hours if you’re coming from Jakarta, or about 6 hours if you’re coming from Jogjakarta.
I’d definitely suggest you to join open trip provided by local tour organizers. That’s what I did since it’s pretty convenient and not too expensive. I paid around Rp 500,000 for weekend trip from Jakarta.
We departed on Friday night by bus, reached Dieng Plateau on Saturday Morning, explored the area, and Sunday we made our way back to Jakarta.
You can plan whatever option suits you the best. In case you need my help to find tour organizers to Dieng, just let me know.
Attractions around Dieng
I love Dieng. It’s chilly, fresh air, and there’re plenty of interesting places to explore. There’s also an annual festival happening here, called Dieng Culture Festival. Let’s check out these cool places around Dieng Plateau.
Kompleks Candi Arjuna
Central Java is home to some extraordinary temples such as Borobudur and Prambanan. In Dieng Plateau, you can also find a complex of Hindu temples. This area once had 400 temples, however now only 8 ruins exist.
The temples are named based on the heroes from the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata such as Arjuna, Srikandi, Sembrada, Puntadewa, and Semar.
Museum Kaliasa
All the information related to Dieng is kept in Museum Kaliasa, from history, local customs, culture and beliefs, to flora and fauna. The museum has two exhibitions. The first one was built in 1984, full of relics from the temples around Dieng Plateau. Second exhibition was built in 2008, the collections vary from historic objects, local myth, and many more.
Dieng Theater
The main attraction of this theater is the documentary film called “Bumi Khayangan”. The film plays for 30 minutes, introducing Dieng Plateau to the visitors. There’re actually some cool places around the theater. Also the location is good to view the surrounding mountains.
Kawah Sileri and Sikidang
Kawah Sileri is a crater that is still active. You can see the smoke or vents covering the surface of this crater. There’s another active crater nearby named Kawah Sikidang as well.
Telaga Warna
The highlights of Dieng Plateau is probably this, Telaga Warna. It’s a lake that can change its colour depending on the weather due to sulphur level in the water. Next to it is Telaga Panglon. The water is clearer, looks more like a mirror.
Puncak Sikunir
Last but not least, Puncak Sikunir. Some said it’s one of the best five peaks to see golden sunrise. Too bad, the weather was a bit cloudy when I got there. However, the view was still amazing. You can see clouds, the whole Dieng Plateau with its craters and lakes, also high mountains in Java like Mount Merapi, Merbabu, Unggaran, and Slamet.
So, that’s it about Dieng. Make sure you have to try “Mie Ongklok”, a local specialty noodle dishes. Other than that, if you have time you can also hike Mount Prau just located nearby. Have fun!
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