For a birds eye view of central Bandung climp the easterly tower of Masjid Agung, next to the alun - alun. There are some very fine Dutch art deco strutcures to admire on Jl. Jendral Sudirman and Jl. Asia Afrika, two of the best being the Grand Hotel Preanger and the Savoy Homann Hotel, both of which have imposing facedes.
North of The City
While you're in the neighbourhood, dip into the Museum Prangko in the northeastern corner of the Gedung Sate complex. As well as thousands of stamps from around the world, the museum has everything from postboxes to pushcarts used since colonial times.
Bandung Institute of Technology
Open in 1920, ITB was the first university open to Indonesians. Sukarno studied here and formed the Bandung Study Club, which later grew into the pro-independence Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI).
The institute has maintained a reputation for political activism, and students here published the White Book of the 1978 Students' Struggle, which alleged corruption in high places. In 1998, in the lead up to Suharto's downfall, up to 100.000 students rallied daily
The ITB also has an excellent fine arts school, and its art gallery can be visited. A cross from the main gate is a useful canteen in the asrama mahasiswa (studentt dorm complex), where many of the students congregate.
Dago
On the main road, 100m past the teahouse turn off, a path leads down to Curug Dago. From here you can walk along the river to Taman Hutan Raya Ir. H. Juanda , which is a pleasant forest park with another waterfall and walking paths. By road, the park entrance is 2km past the Dago bemo terminal
Gua Pakar is in fact an ammunition store hacked out by the Japanese during the war. Further north is Gua Belanda, which is the same deal but built by the Dutch. A tunnel cuts right through the mountain to the start of the trail that leads all the way to Maribaya along Sungai Cikapundung
Lembang
The colonial era Grand Hotel Lembang dates from 1921 and was once a fashionable base for the Dutch. It's sprawling place with 191 recently renovated rooms and a smart, modren bistro plus beautiful gardens and tennis courts
Maribaya Hot Springs
There's a good track, and if you allow about two hour for the walk (6km) you can be at a Dago vantage point for sunset. From there is only a short trip by angkot back to Bandung
Tangkuban Perahu
At 2076m Tangkuban Perahu can be quite cool and around noon the mist starts to roll in through the trees, so try to go early. The creater is easily accessible by car so its very much a tourist trap
At the creater are an information centre, warung and a parade of pedlars hustling postcards, souvenirs and other junk. It's a tracky jumble that detracts from the scenery, but you can escape this bedlam of activity.
The huge creater is an mpressive sight. Tangkuban Perahu still emits sulphur fumes access to the volcano is occasionally denied when volcanic activity increases, but it's usually open. The last serious eruption occured in 1969
It's possible to circumnavigate most of the caldera in around two hours. Kawah Ratu is the huge "Queen Creater" at the top. Walk around the rim of the main creater for about 20 minutes for view of the secondary creater, Kawah Upas. The trail leads further along a ridge between the two creaters and returns to the car park, but it is steep and slippery in part - exercise caution.
A better and less crowded walk is to Kawah Domas, a volcanic area of steaming and bubling geysers that can be reached by a side trail to the top. You can also head off across country towards Ciater or Lembang.
Just north of the town of Cikole, the outdoor centre Taman Wisata Alam has a camp site and basic wooden bungalows. Cooking facilities are avaiable, or there's a tiny restaurant for meals.