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| Sendiki Beach, Malang, East Java, Indonesia |
Beach day. I have been waiting for this in a while. Malang is mostly known for Bromo and the highlands where there are many water falls park and amusement parks. The southern part of Malang is home to a number of beaches which are still untamed and unheared of. By following Explore Malang on Instagram, I got to know that there are several beaches that you can visit.
Getting to the southern part of Malang will take about 2 hours drive from the city center. Traffic is not a relative issue when you come this part and if you do encounter some traffic, it won't really take you so long to get out of it.
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| Sendiki Beach |
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| Sendiki Beach |
There are many beaches in Malang flocked by local tourists and that is what you may want to avoid to have a serene time as if you own the beach. Believe me that there are many beaches there that will make you feel like you are the only visitor.
Pantai Sendiki or Sendiki Beach is still relatively unknown even to locals. You will have to pass through an unpaved road in between farm lands. Upon reaching the entry area, you will have to pay 10.000 Rupiah (USD 0.75) and a parking fee of 15.000 (USD you do the Math). You have to rent a car and a guide by the way when coming to the south which I will discuss later at the end. After the main entry, there is a short hike that will take you down to beach.
I was welcomed with huge waves crashing to the shore and the beach is decorated with swings. There are lots of them and you can enjoy it all as there are not many people in the beach. The beach stretches to about a kilometer. We arrived at 9:00 AM while the tides are still high. Surfers will definitely enjoy this beach. I didn't because I couldn't swim at all. The waves and rip tides scares the hell out of me.
In the Cilungup Mangrove Conservation (CMC), you will see one of the most unique beaches in Malang that the locals are quite proud of. Pantai Tiga Warna (Three Coloured Beach) is part of the coservation area of the CMC. This three-toned beach is one of the most interesting beach I have ever seen as you can snorkle and see corals and fishes at about 15 meters away from the shore. The three tones of the beach (starting from the shore) are light blue, dark blue and dark green. The dark blue area is where the corals are. You can rent snorkling gadgets and life vests for 20,000 rupiah. Snorkling is only limited to 2 hours per person.
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| Cilungup Mangrove Conservation |
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| Cilungup Mangrove Conservation |
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| Crab in a hole |
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| Three-Coloured Beach |
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| Three-Coloured Beach |
The CMC is a huge hectares of land which conserves the mangrove. I do not see any deforestation in the area but I know that these mangroves are essential to the land and sea lives. The abundance of mangroves in the area has given a place to live for the many different species.
Among all the beaches in southern Malang, it is only CMC that charges 100,000 rupiah for your entry ticket (locals are charged differently). I know that the different charges between locals and foreign tourists turns off many foreign visitors but at least we know will be used for a good cause. Before you come to this area, you have to call a day ahead to make a reservation. This applies to both local and foreign visitors and they are strict about it. There is a limit to daily visitors to ensure that area is well protected. They will ask you for the reservation number before they let you in. You can sms or call (+62) 813-3338-3140 to make a reservation. Upon paying your ticket, you will be asked about the things you are carrying. They have a checklist and they will give you a copy. Keep that because upon exit, you will have to show the check list to see if you have left anything that is on your list. If you are carrying food and plastic bottles, you have to make sure you are carrying the wrappers back with you when you leave as they will check it upon exit. There are no trash cans in the conservation area. This is to ensure that you bring out with you the trash that you carried in. There is another guide from the CMC who will accompany you on your walk throughout the area.
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| Gatra Beach |
The other two beaches in the CMC are Pantai Gatra and Pantai Clingup. Pantai Gatra has a more dramatic scenery with drops of islets on your view while you cruise on a canoe. You have to be here while the tides are high which is from early morning until around 10:00 AM. Once it is low tide, which is when the time that we arrived, you can only see the green moss-covered rocks at the shore. The water breaks at about 500 meters from the shore line and in between that are all moss-covered rocks which is still a great view to see.
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| Gatra Beach |
At Pantai Clingup, which is closer to the mangrove conservation area, the shore of the beach spreads across to about a kilometer when the tides are low.
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| Clungup Beach |
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| Mangroves |
Spending an entire day at the Cilungup Mangrove Conservation area will give you different sceneries of the mangroves and the beaches at every different time. As you walk along the inner part of the conservation area, you will find holes on the ground. These holes were dug by crabs. You will see them come out and welcome you in the afternoon. Approximately around 2:00-5:00pm and they begin to come out of their self-built homes inside those holes. Also, you have to make sure that you come here during the dry season of May to October (the same time recommended for visiting Mount Bromo). The conservation areas pathways are made of mud. The muds were dry when we visited but the area can be slippery during the monsoon season.
Lastly, Pantai Bale Kambang which is about 20kms drive from the CMC is a famous destination for locals. If you are a foreign tourist, I suggest you keep away from this area. The beach is dirty and it is not well maintained. When the tides are low, you can see the resemblance of the rock formation at the bottom of the beach to that of Tanah Lot in Bali. At the far end of this approximately 3 kilometer stretch of light brown sand beach, you will find a treasure though. A Hindu temple in a small island connected by an awfully coloured bridge. The temple is called Pura Ismoyo but there is no recorded detail written anywhere about the history of this temple. Maybe Wikipedia can help. It is a small temple but it shows an enigmatic feel in the late afternoon while waves of the Indian ocean crashes through the vast rocky bottom sea shore in front of the temple. It was mesmerizing despite the awfully dirty beach shore. I guess its isolation from the beach still gave the temple that day of silence feel.
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| Bale Kambang Beach |
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| Pura Ismoyo |
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| Pura Ismoyo |
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| Bale Kambang Beach |
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| Bale Kambang Beach |
Now, for the car rental. Explore Malang (see Instagram) is partnered with Lepas Suntuk, a local travel company which provides tours of Malang. I never did any research or reviews about this company and I just relied on the number of followers they have on Instagram. They are relatively new. About a year old as of this writing and I could say that they are quite good with their services. Lepas Suntuk, according to the three different drivers I have had on this trip, are composed of college students enthusiasts who pride themselves of how great the region of Malang is. And I can feel that they are not doing this just for money but because they really enjoy doing these travel adventures. For more convenience, book a private trip so you can maximize your time and see the best of what Malang can offer.
July 23-27, 2017, Malang
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28 July 2017
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