Megalithic period is a period which have an unique culture that produces buildings made of large stones. Results of the work in megalithic period is usually not done in a neat but just done in a rough and just to get the required shape. One of the biggest relics of megalithic period site in the world is in Wiltshire, United Kingdom. In 1914, the presence of the biggest megalithic heritage sites in Southeast Asia for the first time became a publication in Rapporten van de Oudheidkundige Dienst (ROD, Bulletin of the Department of Antiquities). This relics of megalithic sites are Gunung Padang. Gunung Padang is a megalithic site with models of punden. The location is in between two hamlets ie Gunungpadang and Panggulan. More precisely in the village of Karyamukti, sub district of Campaka, regency of Cianjur, province of West Java, Indonesia. Gunung Padang site is located at an altitude of 885 meters above sea level, with an area of 900 square meters.
Structures in the site of Gunung Padang has a shape like a pyramid with 5 floors. In the first floor, there is a door, a place of worship, and a performance room which has rectangular shape. In this floor, there is a rock that can produce melodious sounds like a musical instrument. On the second floor there is a barn, a chair made from stone which has circle shape, and Kujang (heirlooms from West Java). In the fourth and fifth floor, the entire building is also made of large stones. There is an unique stone in fourth floor, the stone is often used to practice martial arts in the past. According to the story, the stone can only be removed by someone who has a good mind and a good heart. A stone throne is located in the fifth floor, the stone used to determine the new moon, according to the Hijri calendar system.
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Gunung Padang in Java
image source: https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkas:Gunung_Padang_Site.jpg |
The stone types that are in the site of Gunung Padang is stone that contains iron or which is often called andesite stone. There are two paths that can be used to reach the summit of Gunung Padang site ie the left and right lane. The left lane is the original path with a slope of about 50 degrees. While the right lane is a new lane that is specially made for visitors. Visitors can use the left and right lane to reach the top of the site of Gunung Padang, but to go down of this attraction must use the right lane. It is applied for the safety of visitors because the left lane has stairs that have the distance between rungs is far enough and high.
To get to the location site of Gunung Padang can use public transport or private vehicles. There are several public transport passing through the site of Gunung Padang area, but the best transportation for toward the site of Gunung Padang is a private vehicle. Although it is located in one of the provinces were large and well known, but the facilities available at the site of GUnung Padang is still limited and the road to the location is not good enough. This place is perfect for travelers who like a relic of history, but not for tourists who want a vacation. The price of admission to the site Gunung Padang is IDR 2000 (USD 0.2) for local travelers and IDR 5000 (USD 0.5) for foreign tourists. Visitors who come to the site of Mount can hire the services of a guide to explain more about the site of Gunung Padang. Wages guide services in the site of Gunung Padang is not pegged for sure, visitor usually give a wage of IDR 20,000 (USD 2).
Routes to the site of Gunung Padang from Jakarta (capital city of Indonesia)
Jakarta > Bogor > Baranangsiang > Cianjur > Warung Kondang > Gunung Padang site
