Pangandaran
Encyclopedia
Subdistricts of Indonesia
In Indonesia, a kecamatan or district is a subdivision of a regency or of a city . A district is itself divided into kelurahan or administrative villages....
in southern Ciamis
Ciamis
Ciamis is the capital of the Ciamis Regency in West Java, Indonesia....
regency, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is located on the southern coast of Java. Pangandaran is a popular tourist destination, having a beach which is considered to be one of the finest in Java and which offers excellent surfing.
A kite-flying festival is held on the beach in July each year. Locals regularly use kites in the evenings to catch bats, which are either eaten or used in Chinese remedies. There is a local belief that wearing any green garment in this area will anger Loro Kidul
Nyai Loro Kidul
Nyai Loro Kidul is a legendary Indonesian spirit, known as the Queen of the Southern Sea of Java in Javanese and Sundanese mythology...
, the Javanese guardian spirit or goddess of the southern sea, and will bring misfortune.
The Penanjung Pangandaran nature reserve is nearby on a peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land. The isthmus wide is around 200 meters and we can see sunrise at East Beach and also sunset at West Beach when the sun is above southern hemisphere. About eighty percent of the nature reserve is secondary rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
. The flora of the nature reserve includes the Rafflesia
Rafflesia
Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species , all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines.Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr...
.
An undersea earthquake measured at 7.7 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
triggered a black wall of tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
water enfulging people, causing destruction as far inland up to a half kilometre on 17 July 2006. Extensive damage was caused and hundreds were killed including a small number of foreign tourists.
Beaches and tourism
Pangandaran is a large fishing village situated on a narrow isthmus of land with Pangandaran National Park occupying the entire headland.On either side to the east and to the west of Pangandaran village and the National Park isthmus
Isthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
are two beaches of volcanic black sand
Black sand
Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on beaches near a volcano, consists of tiny fragments of lava.While some beaches are...
. These east and west facing beaches provide Pangandaran with the unusual reputation as being one of the few beach resorts in the world where one can watch a sunrise in the morning and a sunset in the evening.
Pangandaran Beach has become increasingly popular with surfers as there are several beaches and surf breaks within easy travelling distance. There are also surfboard hire facilities and surf schools available at the beach.
Pangandaran is also popular with Indonesian domestic tourists, particularly during the holidays of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
and long holiday.