Kalibiru NP
After soaking up the vibrant vibes of Yogyakarta for six days, we were itching for a change of scenery. So, we decided to embark on a day trip to Kalibiru National Park! This park is about gorgeous views of a water reservoir. Talk about swapping city bustle for some natural tranquillity.
To reach the park, we had to take a train to Wates, which is only one station further from Yogyakarta. As we were so enthusiastic to go there, we woke up at 7 so we could be there early. After breakfast we went to the train station immediately to find out the next train to Wates departed at 10, oops. Anyway, arriving at Wates we still needed transport to the National Park. We thought we had a nice deal on Grab for Rp. 78.000 (€5,25). When our driver arrived, he asked us Rp. 300.000 (€20) because it would be a difficult road… As it’s only a 10 km drive, we said no. We directly got approached by another taxi (?) and he would take us for Rp. 100.000 and as we were so desperate to go, we agreed.
Arriving at the park, the ride was without much difficulty but with some gorgeous views, we got our tickets (for Rp. 10.000 pp) and started our hike. Well, at least we thought we would be hiking. To make the place more touristy, they have made a little adventure park from it. That might seems very nice, but the adventures we’re talking about are some climbing, a timber bridge, a flying fox… all not longer than 5 meters and not higher than 3 meters. All created for photoshoots. The few locals that were there, were having their best time, but we were a bit disappointed. We saw nice photos online from a bicycle high in the sky, that turned out to be a bicycle, 1,5 meters from the ground and only 5 meter long. And the attraction was not even open. We did do one photo spot, which was this nice platform. We did get secured to climb the platform.
After the few ‘adventures’ that are located literally next to each other, we wanted to discover more. So we did hike a bit. After this platform we only found abandoned warungs and attractions. Very sad to see because they all are nice made and have this beautiful view over the lake. On one abandoned platform we could reach without any help or security, so we had our snack and laid down for a bit.
We ended our trip with some mie (noodles) before taking the same car back to the train station. The driver waited for us the whole time. He took the scenic route down, around the lake, which we could really appreciate! At the station he asked us 5.000 rupees more for the parking, while he only dropped us of. We ended
up not paying for the parking but with the Rp. 200.000 we bargained at the park.
Is Kalibiru worth a visit? If you have some extra time in Yogyakarta, we would say yes. We enjoyed the outdoors after a week of only city strolls and the view from the park was amazing! It is also a good spot if you want some unique photos. If you don’t have the time, you’re not missing out. We believe we will see lots of more beautiful views along this Indonesia trip.
