All the beauty of Java, the island of a thousand faces

Welcome by your English-speaking guide at Jakarta international airport and transfer to the seaside, to the far west of Java. Early in the evening, you will be welcomed by a family of fishermen, who will invite you to taste crabs, shrimp and other grilled fish... a real delight!

You will then spend the night in a simple but very lively hotel (Indonesians come here to spend the weekend and contacts are easy and cheerful)! From the hotel, it is sometimes possible to hear the distant rumbling of an explosion from the Krakatoa volcano

Mid-morning, you head towards the village port, where you board a speed-boat that takes you towards the shores of the mythical Krakatoa volcano. You tour around the island while maintaining a safe distance, according to volcanic conditions (since the paroxysmal eruption in late December 2018, the volcano « Anak Krakatau » - as it is called by Indonesians - has been in an unstable phase where eruptions are random at the moment).

Bivouac at the foot of the volcano or on one of the neighboring islands.

The morning is dedicated to exploring the Krakatoa volcano and its surroundings. Depending on its activity, you will climb up the sides of the old cone in order to observe the new one, born in 2021 and regularly erupting. Possibility of swimming in the sea.

In early afternoon, transfer by speed-boat to the Ujung Kulon National Park, and more particularly to Peucang Island, located off the northwest coast of the national park, where the water is translucent and the sand is white. Here, underwater life is thriving, but you will also be accompanied by gray monkeys, deer, wild boars and many bird species.

In late afternoon, you take a nice hike to Cidaon, in order to approach in particular wild bulls and a few Java peacocks.

After dinner, night hike to track the surrounding wildlife.

Early in the morning, you head towards the Cigenter River, which you explore by canoe, through thick tropical jungle. This will be an opportunity to track and observe local wildlife: the riverbanks are lined with footprints of banteng and Javan rhinoceros, for example. The tree canopy is home to many hornbills; it is also not uncommon to spot pythons clinging to tree branches, as well as monitor lizards rushing towards the banks.

Early in the afternoon, transfer to Handeleum Island. You then explore the surrounding jungle, as well as the underwater life. You also make a stop on Badul Island, uninhabited and renowned for its white sand beaches.

Return to Carita in the late afternoon.

The day is devoted to discovering Ciptagelar, which is the seat of the Kingdom of the Ancients, a legendary kingdom populated by tigers that are said to still haunt the forest, "and which have the peculiarity of being able to make themselves as big as a buffalo or as small as a cat while keeping the same tail length." In the Kingdom of the Ancients, Dewi Sri, or more precisely Pohaci, the nubile form of the rice paddy goddess, always has her room reserved in every house, and no one except the mistress of the house has the right to enter it.

The center of the village is occupied by the Ima Gede, a very vast communal house, also built entirely of wood, bamboo and thatch. It is there that every full moon evening, the women prepare ritual rice cakes over wood fires in the immense kitchen where men also gather, sometimes arriving on foot from distant hamlets to exchange news and rice seeds.

Transfer in mid-afternoon to the southern suburbs of Bogor.

Part of the morning is dedicated to discovering the wonders offered by the Kampoeng Jamoe Organik, a space dedicated to traditional medicinal plants that was created by the famous Indonesian cosmetics group, Martha Tilaar. Later, on the road to Bandung which runs along the Pangrango-Gede volcanic complex to the south, you make a stop at the Gunung Padang megalithic site, which has recently been the subject of in-depth archaeological, geological and geophysical studies.

The name Gunung Padang translates to "mountain of illumination" in the local language, as it was once used for religious rituals. Earlier studies considered it a megalithic site of significant size, composed of stone terraces, but, in the absence of radiocarbon dating, it was assumed that Gunung Padang was a prehistoric site built between several hundred and a few thousand years before our era, in line with regional megalithic cultures of Asia.

The latest study suggests that Gunung Padang is not a natural hill but a pyramidal construction. The core of the pyramid consists of massive andesitic lava meticulously carved, wrapped by layers of rock constructions. The oldest construction dates back to between 25,000 and 14,000 years before our era, well before the construction of those in Giza in Egypt ! Transfer to Bandung in late afternoon.

OPTIONAL on days 8 & 9, possibility to climb the Gede volcano, before joining Bandung - SUPPLEMENT of €150 per person. Please ask us for more details.

Early morning departure to the hills of the Malabar region, renowned for its tea plantations. Once settled in a room near the former Dutch planter's house, you will have complete freedom to explore on foot the vast green expanse surrounding you.

You will also pass by the tomb of Karel Albert Rudolf Boscha, the founder and patron of the surrounding tea plantations.

Early in the morning, you take advantage of the cool mountain air to enjoy a lovely walk through the tea plantations and visit the processing plant which will teach you a lot about tea uses.

Late morning, transfer to Papandayan volcano, through the entire volcanic chain. Not far away, you can even see the smoking geysers from the Kamojang crater. A hike towards it will allow us to observe the intriguing boiling mud pools, steam releases and other sulfur deposits. You then continue with a visit to the Kamojang geothermal center, in the heart of a vast caldera several kilometers wide.

Transfer in the morning to the outskirts of Tasikmalaya. Along the way, you make a stop at the traditional village of Kampung Naga, typical of the Sundanese region, whose population has remained faithful to the traditions of the past. This is an opportunity for a lovely walk of about one hour in the lush surroundings.

In the early afternoon, you reach the crater of Volcan Galunggung (2,168 m), around which you hike, before descending and studying the effects of the latest eruptions of 1982: a gigantic "Lahar" (mudflow and ash flow) had then swept down the slopes of the volcano and forced more than 30,000 residents to evacuate.

Early morning transfer to Baturaden, a small mountain resort located on the slopes of the impressive Mt Slamet.

Along the way, just before Banjar, you will stop at Karang Kamulyan, a historic site that is the birthplace of a popular tale, known locally as that of Ciung Wanara. It tells the story of the kingdom of Galuh and the origin of the name of the Pamali river.

A lovely morning excursion takes you to discover landscapes as sublime as they are varied: authentic villages, terraced rice fields, wild rivers and dense tropical forest…

A relaxation session will then be offered to you, in an idyllic setting of hot spring thermal waters. A reflexology massage based on sulfurous mud will also be offered to you by a local therapist.

Transfer to Wonosobo in the afternoon.

Morning transfer to the Dieng Plateau. Intensely populated and cultivated, the plateau is an archaeological site featuring eight ruined Hindu temples. The day is dedicated to discovering the various tourist attractions (Lake Telaga Warna, temples, smoking crater of the Sikidang volcano, etc.).

Afternoon transfer to the slopes of Mt Sumbing.

In the early morning, you visit the famous Borobudur Temple, built in the 8th and 9th centuries during the Sailendra dynasty.

Transfer to Jepara in the afternoon.

Early in the morning, transfer to the port and boarding on a "speed-ferry" that takes you to the paradise represented by the Karimunjawa archipelago (2 hours journey).

The rest of the day is free.

Free morning until transfer to Karimunjawa port, where you take the "speed-ferry" back to Jepara (2 hours).

Then transfer by private vehicle to Yogyakarta, the cultural capital of Java.

Early in the morning, 4x4s take us to the Tengger region, where the famous Mount Bromo (2329 m) spews its plumes, and the caldera surrounding it forms a gigantic sea of sand. During this journey, we traverse the remarkable forest of the Tengger-Bromo-Semeru National Park, also skirting part of the rim of the Bromo volcano's caldera, before descending towards the sea of sand to reach the village of Cemorolawang (located on one of the opposite ridges). Mt Bromo is the most venerated by the Hindu Tengger people who live in the region. Ascent of the Bromo volcano in the afternoon. We can thus admire its crater resembling a smoking cauldron. It is then easy to understand why the Javanese once considered this place as the entrance to purgatory.

Then we reach the summit of the Mount Pananjakan (Penanjakan)

(2,775 m) to witness a fabulous spectacle. We witness the sunset in a lunar landscape, with an unobstructed view of Mount Bromo, its sea of sand, and the Semeru volcano, both releasing thick fumaroles. Unique!

Return to the hotel early in the evening.

Transfer to East Java, and more specifically to the village of Kalibaru, located in the heart of diverse plantations, which were once exploited by Dutch colonists.

In the afternoon, you begin a pleasant hike in the surrounding area.

Early morning departure by 4x4 towards the Meru Betiri National Park. After approximately 5 hours of driving, sometimes chaotic but through magnificent rubber, cocoa and coconut plantations, we arrive in the small village of Sukamade.

In the afternoon, a first discovery hike of the surrounding area, and we head, in the evening, towards Sukamade beach, where we witness a fabulous spectacle: the nesting of sea turtles.

Short morning hike to the "Cap Vert", a superb white sand beach bordered by crystal-clear waters. Swimming possible. Then drive to Licin, on the edge of Kawah Ijen.

Early in the morning, you head back in a 4x4 towards the slopes of Kawah Ijen, which you climb easily in the company of men who daily extract sulfur from the edge of the world's largest acid lake. These true "convicts" carry nearly 80 kg of ore on their backs over approximately 15 km to the processing plant! You then witness the weighing and various work contracts. A very striking and gripping image of your journey.

Late morning, transfer to Ketapang port where you board a ferry bound for Bali. Short transfer to the Pemuteran beach resort, a small beach resort located on the northwest coast of the island of the gods, far from tourist crowds.

Free time until transfer to the airport.