Central Java | Dieng Plateau

Land of potatoes and volcanoes.

So it turns out that Java only really starts getting interested once you hit the mountains.  A few people had recommended I check out Dieng, but nobody really seemed to know much about it.  It was pretty much the best surprise of the whole trip.  The whole area was stunning.  It didn’t seem like there was anywhere to stay leading up to Dieng itself, but the road from Wonosobo past Dieng was gorgeous.  So many great views of volcanoes and hills covered in fields.  Definitely somewhere I’d go back to, but probably try to hire a motorbike in Wonosobo and head out early early in the morning to catch sunrise over the mountains, so I could see more of the whole area.

Dieng itself was shockingly cold.  I arrived in the pouring rain and was totally unprepared for the cold.  I slept with 3 blankets, wearing everything I brought with me and was shivering uncontrollably.  The nice thing about being there in low season was that I had an entire house to myself.  There were actually lots of people visiting for the weekend I was up there, but they really only came out mid morning once I finished shooting, so it was pretty easy to avoid the crowds around the temples and crater.

Anyways… enough writing. Here are some pictures.