Tasikmalaya

Galunggung's crater stairs, Kampung Naga and a day for crafts

Tasikmalaya suits two days. Drive out early to Galunggung volcano and climb the long stairway to the crater rim, before cloud settles, for the caldera lake scarred by the 1982 eruption; visit Kampung Naga, a traditional Sundanese village, and give a second day to the city's embroidery, umbrella and woven-craft workshops.

Make the first morning about Galunggung. Drive out toward Singaparna or Indihiang early, before cloud settles on the volcano, and climb the long concrete stairway from the car park to the crater rim. The view drops into a wide caldera with a lake in its floor, the landscape still scarred from the 1982 eruption. On the way down, soak at the hot spring pools at Cipanas, at the foot of the mountain.

In the afternoon, return to town by way of Situ Gede, a small natural lake on the western edge where local families picnic, and spend the evening around the alun-alun and Jalan HZ Mustofa, where food carts set up after dark.

Day two starts at Kampung Naga, about 30 km west on the road toward Garut. A stone stairway leads down to roughly a hundred thatched houses by the Ciwulan river. The community keeps old Sundanese rules on building, farming and dress, and allows visitors in with a local guide. Allow two hours, and bring water for the climb back up.

Back in Tasik, spend the afternoon in the craft workshops: embroidery houses, mendong mat weavers and the makers of painted payung geulis umbrellas. Ask your hotel to arrange a visit, as many are family homes, not shops.

Nasi tutug oncom, abon and the mie bakso of Jalan Galunggung

Tasik's own dish is nasi tutug oncom, nasi TO for short: rice pounded with grilled oncom, a fermented cake made from tofu solids, chilli and kencur, served with fried chicken, salted fish and tempeh. Buy abon, shredded dried meat, to take home, and eat mie bakso on Jalan Galunggung.

Tasik's own dish is nasi tutug oncom, known locally just as nasi TO. The result is smoky, savoury and orange-flecked, served with fried chicken, salted fish, tempeh and fresh lalapan greens. Nasi TO Benhil 96 on Jalan Petir is one of the most popular places in town.

Meatballs are a serious business here. Mie Bakso Siliwangi on Jalan Galunggung is a plain shop with a loyal following for its beef bakso in clear broth with yellow noodles. Small bakso stalls all over the city compete on texture and broth.

For something to take home, Tasik makes excellent abon, dried and shredded spiced beef that keeps for weeks. Abon Haji Dudu Eci on Jalan Empangsari is a well-known producer.

As in the rest of the Sundanese highlands, meals come with plenty of raw vegetables and a pestle of fresh sambal. In the evening, the stalls around the alun-alun serve grilled satay, martabak and hot drinks of ginger and palm sugar against the cool night air.

Pamijahan's holy cave and the road south to Pangandaran

Pamijahan, in the south of Tasikmalaya Regency, is West Java's best-known pilgrimage site, with the tomb of the 17th-century teacher Syekh Abdul Muhyi and the narrow cave where he meditated; dress modestly. The road continues south towards the beach town of Pangandaran on the Indian Ocean.

Beyond the city, the most important pilgrimage site is Pamijahan, in Bantarkalong district in the south of the regency. Pilgrims from across Java come to pray at the tomb of Syekh Abdul Muhyi, a 17th-century Islamic teacher, and to enter the narrow cave where he is said to have meditated. Visitors are welcome if they dress modestly and respect prayer; weekdays are far calmer than holiday weekends.

South-east of Tasik, the road continues through Ciamis and Banjar to Pangandaran on the Indian Ocean, a popular beach town with a forested nature reserve on its peninsula. Frequent buses link the two, which makes Tasik a sensible overnight stop between Bandung and the coast.

Weather shapes all of these trips. Tasik is wet for most of the year: December averages over 360 mm of rain and January about 350 mm, while July, the driest month, still gets around 177 mm. Afternoons in the rainy season bring heavy downpours, so do the volcano and the village in the morning. Temperatures stay mild, between 20C and 30C.

Ramadan and Eid also matter. The city is subdued during the fasting month, and the homecoming traffic around Eid can block the roads for days.