Journeying Underground in Kendeng Mountains

Kompas/WINARTO HERUSANSONO

Pancur cave in the South Kendeng Mountain area around Jimbaran village, Sukolilo district, Patu regency, Central Java.

The Kendeng Mountain in Pati regency, Central Java, does not only store ground water for thousands of hectares of agricultural areas and millions of people in the local area. Kendeng also has beautiful caves, majestic stalactites and stalagmites and various other unique rocks.

Strolling through the depths of Pancur village in Gasong hamlet, Jimbaran village, Sukolilo district, Pati regency, travelers will be awed by the views of stalactites and stalagmites deep in Kendeng’s belly. The underground river with its clear water is never dry even during the dry season. The depth of the water varies between one meter and six meters.

The Pancur cave is like a huge water reservoir in the Kendeng Mountains. Despite the mountain’s bare surface, there is a huge water spring underground. Currently, the water in the cave becomes a major water resource for agriculture. Many locals also use the water spring for rituals.

Water from the underground water spring attracts many people to visit the cave. The water is believed to be having magical healing effects for whoever washes their face in several spots of the water spring.

The length of the cave at the deepest point below the South Kendeng Mountain reaches 8.72 kilometers. Pancur cave was first found by local Mbah Sarto in around 1932. The discovery was caused by the trickling sounds of water from inside the cave.

Locals then created a huge entrance gate to the cave to walk down the river in the cave. The deeper they go, the louder the sound of water and the faster the current became. This was why the location is then called Pancur cave. “Pancur” means shower or fountain in the local language.

According to Suyitno, the advisor of Pancur Cave tourism-awareness group (Pokdarwis) in an interview on Saturday (8/7/2017), the cave tourism was only developed four years ago. The local Pokdarwis at first developed a 2.9-hectare tourism area.

The cave’s entrance on top of hills is a huge point of interest for visitors. From the mouth of the cave, visitors can enjoy free views toward the green rice fields. On several trees around the cave’s mouth, there are nests of white doves. Visitors can give the birds corn seeds for feeding.

Cave journey

Pancur cave is located some 17 kilometers to the southwest of Pati or 85 kilometers to the east of Semarang. From downtown Pati, there are several options of public transportation heading to the location. If you bring your own vehicle with you, you need only to go to Sukolilo. The tourism destination is connected to a smooth provincial road from Pati to Sukolilo.

In order to enjoy the beauty of Pancur village, local tourism managers under the Gasong Community offer several cave journey packages. The packages include three-kilometer, five-kilometer and 15-kilometer journeys into the cave.

For those who do not want to get wet, tour guides have also prepared boats from huge tires. Considering that there is not pathway in the area, the journey will require you to go through the river in the cave. In the first 300 meters, travelers will be able to enjoy stunning views thanks to the provided lighting. The soothing lights blend perfectly with the majestic stalactites and stalagmites.

In terms of safety, travelers need not to worry. All cave journey guides have been trained by the nature lovers’ club of Malang’s Brawijaya University in East Java.

Local guide Khabibur Rohman said that the number of visitors inside the cave was limited to ensure their own safety and comfort.

Travelers will be able to rent safety equipment, including lifejackets, flashlights, helmets and rubber boots, for free. The guide will also bring a large flashlight.

The cheapest cave journey package is the three-kilometer one, for which the price is just Rp 20,000 (US$1.5). There are scheduled cave journeys every morning, noon and afternoon. The tourism area is closed at 5 p.m. Between two and three hours are needed to do the whole journey in Pancur cave.

“For women and children who cannot go in, they can play around in the clear water in the cave’s wide entrance,” Khabibur said.

Unique rocks

A uniqueness of limestone cave is the wealth of karst stone underground. The case is similar with Pancur cave. The wide swaths of stalactites and stalagmites have memorable meaning and forms.

The rocks are like natural sculpture formed by continuous exposure of karst stone to water at the Kendeng Mountains. The thousands-of-years-old stalactites and stalagmites can be seen in various colors. Most of them are white, maroon or greyish black.

Ahmad Najid, a local tour guide who has gone into Pancur village countless times in the last few decades, said that the water level subsided a little bit . At the time, from the bottom of the cave, beautiful crystals in the form of terraces emerged. There are also marbles that resemble the shadow puppet figure of Semar.

For those who love bathing in warm water, there is a natural hot spring just 200 meters from the cave’s entrance. During the rainy season, the temperature difference between the hot water and cold water in the cave is very palpable. Your body will be refreshed in no time.