Kebun Raya
At the heart of Bogor are the fabulous botanical garden, known as the
Kebun Raya, the city's green lung of around 87 hectars. Governor General Raffles first developed a garden here, but the spacious grounds of the Istana Bogor (Presidential Palace) were expanded by Dutch botanist Professsor Reinwardt, with assistance from London's Kew Gardens and officially opened in 1817. It was from these gardens that various colonial cash crops, such as tea, cassava, tobacco and cinchona, were developed by Dutch botanist including Johannes Teysmann, during the infamous Cultivation Period in the 19th century. The park is still a maor centre for botanocal research in Indonesia. This was the one place in Indonesia George W Bush visited when he dropped by the country in 2006
Allow yourself at least half a day to enjoy Kebun Raya, while keen gardener could spen a week here and not be bored. It's tricky to pick out highlights in such a verdant wonderland. There are more than 15.000 species of trees and plants but the gardens are said to contain 400 types of magnificent palms, including the footstool palm native to Indonesia, which tops 40m. There's a good stock of graceful pandan trees and some huge agave and cacti in the mexican section. Drop by the orchid house and take in the lovely ponds, which have giant water lilies over a metre across, and look out monitor lizards, exotic bird life and deer
Near the main entrance of the gardens is a small monument, erected in memory of Olivia Raffles, who died in 1814 and was buried in Batavia. There is also a cementry near the palace with Dutch headstones including the tomb of DJ de Eerens, a former governor general.
Zoological Museum
Near the entrance to the botanical gardens, this museum has a motley but interesting collection of zoological oddities, including the skeleton of a blue whale, giant stick insects, beetles as big a tennis balls and a pooch sized Flores rat.
Istana Bogor
In the northwestern corner of the botanical gardens, the summer palace of the president was formerly the opulent official residence of the Dutch governors general from 1870 to 1942
Today, herds of white spotted deer roam the immaculate lawns and the building contains Sukarno's huge art collection, which largely focuses on the female figure. The palace is only open to groups (minimum 10) by prior arangement and children are not allowed inside.
Batu Tulis
The Batu tulis is an inscribed stone dedicated to Sri Baduga MAharaja (1482-1521), a Pajajaran king credited with great mystical power. The stone is housed in a small shrine visited by pilgrims - remove ur soes and pay a small donation before entering. Batu tulis is 2.5 km south of the botanical gardens, on Jl. Batutulis. It's almost opposite the former home of Sukarno. His request to be buried here was ignored by Suharto, who wanted the former president's grave as far away from the capital as possible.
Batutulis (Purnawarman Stone)
Those in need of reminding that all great empires come to an end can head for Batutulis, where sits the large black boulder on which King Purnawarman inscribed his name and footprint around AD 450. His rather imodest inscription, in the Palawa script of South India, is uncannily reminiscent of Percy Shelly's Ozymandias, and reads : "This is the footstep of King Purnawarman of Tarumanegara Kingdom, the great conqueror of the world"
The ciampea boulder has been raised from its origila place and embedded in the shallow water of Sungai Ciaruteun. The inscription on the stone is still remarkably clear after more 1500 years
Minibuses make the run to Batutulis form the village of Ciampea about 12 km northwest of Bogor
Gunung Halimun National Park
This national park is home to some primary rainforest, but the park has mixed usage and also includes plantations such as the Nirmala Tea Estate. The dominan feature of the park is the rich montane forest in the highland regions around Gunung Halimun (1929m) which is the highest peak.
Visitor facilities at the park ar undeveloped and park administration is handled by Gede Pangrango National Park at Cibodas, localed some distance away. The most visited attractions in the park are the waterfalls near Cikadang and those near the Nirmala estate, butt the big drawcard is white water rafting.
The usual access (you need your own transport) is through Cibadak on the Bogor - Pelabuhan Ratu road, from where you turn off to Cikadang and then on to the Nirmala Tea Estate. Rainfall in the park is between 4000mm and 6000mm per year, most of which falls from October to May, when a visit is more or less out of the question
