Ultimate Ciumbuleuit Walking Tour (nature ver.)
After almost 4 years living in Ciumbuleuit, I found a hidden gem just at its backdoor. It consists of 2 main attractions and a few detours, because what is a journey without a path-less-traveled perspective? I did intend on taking a few of my high school friend on this walking tour, but I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.
Let’s say we start at Parahyangan University, right in the middle of Ciumbuleuit Street, and it’s where most of the accommodations are located. The first main attraction is Sabuga/Forest Walk and to reach it we need to go downhill in the south direction for 1km to the ‘Gandok’ intersection.
If you’re feeling a little hungry, I recommend the black bean porridge (ketan item) from a little shop located on the right side of the street. I forgot the name of the shop, but it’s open for 24 hours and very suitable for a quick bite after pulling an all-nighter, regaining our energy for the next day. I hope the shop is still open now, would love to eat there again.
Then, from the Gandok intersection, take a left turn to Siliwangi Street and go straight for about 500m. The street itself is one of my favorite streets in Bandung because the sidewalk is huge and full of big woody trees, which make the best pedestrian experience.
Sabuga itself is a sports center that is run by ITB, and just beside its parking lot, there’s Forest Walk, a city park. Depends on the mornings, I alternate between the two, but if you’re a one-time visitor, I definitely recommend the park.
The park consists of just two things, trees, and bridges. By using an elevated path, they succeeded in not covering the ground with cement and also minimize the cutting of the existing vegetation. The feeling of walking through trees and experiencing the morning rays shining through the trees is just ethereal.
After spending one or maybe two hours here, let’s move to the second main attraction, which is the riverbank near the kampongs. I found this path by the end of my 3rd year by noticing a path in Siliwangi Street on the way home from Sabuga, which turned out to be a pleasant discovery. It turns out that is the path to Kampong Pelangi, which is a cliffside kampong that had been painted with vibrant colors, courtesy of Nippon paint. It kinda resembles Gamcheon Village, Korea, because of the colors and the steep topology.
The street itself is narrow, we had to move to the sidewalk if there’s someone walking/riding towards us. At first I’m really shy, but I lowkey enjoy greeting the residents there, ‘Nuhun Pak’, ‘Mangga’, showing of one of my few Sundanese vocabulary. If you feel thirsty, there’s a lot of warungs by the riverbank. The last time I went there, there’s some locals building a cafe from timber, they told me they chose the best spot for to enjoy the river’s visual and audial experience, and I think they are right.
I knew that the path will lead us back to campus because it headed north, and also because we asked one of the locals. After almost 2km on the narrow road, there’s a steep right turn that can take us to the main road again. And that concludes the best-unplanned detour I have ever had.
I ended up doing this several times if I have a vacant morning, each time with different friends. I also planned on making a documented journal back then, but my final year had to be cut of because of the pandemic. Really looking forward for the time when I can do this routine again.
