Kawah Putih (the white crater) is a sulfuric lake that lies on the top of the Mount Patuha in West Java, Indonesia which is about 50 kilometers ( 31.07 miles) southwest of Bandung city.

Mount Patuha is a stable volcano without any activity record since 1600.

The lake of Kawah Putih is 2430 meters (7972.44 feet) above the sea level.  The color of the lake varies between dark and light green which depends on the concentration of the sulfur in the lake’s water.

The sands, rocks and dead tree branches also converted to white color after interaction with lake’s acid. The pathway to the crater is sounded by a forest with very high trees of different types.

The smell of the sulfur is very strong around the Kawah Putih Lake as a result of sulfurous gas from the lake.

The ticket fees are 25,000 Indonesian rupiah (2.72 USD) for both nationals and foreigners, while at other tourist sites in Bandung district such as Juanda Forest Park and Tangkuban Perahu, the foreigner ticket is much higher than the Indonesian one.

For traveling from Bandung you have many options to reach the Kawah Putih Park.  Either to rent a car if you could drive on the left or to get a taxi, that is, if you have no problem to pay a big amount for just transportation, or using the minibuses option which they call “Angkot” for the cheapest option.

To take the angkots option, you should change at least 3 angkots, the first one you should take from your location in Bandung  to Leuwi Panjang terminal , then you should take another angkot to Ciwidey terminal and the 3^rd angkot is to the main gate for the Kawah Putih Park.

After crossing the main gate of the park, you still need about 5 kilometers (3.12 miles) to reach the lake. The transportation fees between the gate and the lake is included in the entry ticket to the park.

Within the park there are a lot of souvenirs and snakes venders with no fixed prices, so the buyer can practice bargaining skills to get the lowest price for any item.

After finishing the visit of Kawah Putih it would be worthy to visit Situ Patenggang (Patenggang Lake) before returning to Bandung city.

Situ Patenggang lies about 6 kilometers (3.73 miles) southwest of Kawah Putih, which can be reached by Angkot or motorbike taxi.

Usually the entrance ticket and the transportation fees should be paid to the driver and shouldn’t exceed 6000 Indonesian Rupiah (0.65 USD)  for each passenger.

Situ Patenggang is a lake situated on 1600 meters (5249.34 feets) above sea level, surrounded by mountains making a great background of the lake.

There are tea plantations and strawberry farms on both sides of the road between Kawah Putih and Situ Patenggang making great scenery to see and to photograph.

Both sites, the Situ Patenggang and Kawah Putih are opened daily for visitors from 7:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening including the weekends and national holidays.

Image Courtesy of  dany13

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About the author

Obai Radwan
I'm Palestinian citizen , living in Lisbon, Portugal I love traveling ,photographing ,and swimming! I've Bachelor's Degree in Mass communications from Cairo University follow me on Twitter @ubai1982