All the best things on our planet are hidden from us. Having lived all my life on Kamchatka I truly believe this, especially if it comes to unique objects of nature. So, when I reached the fabulous beaches of Indonesia, I packed my equipment in the car, got on the ferry and set off for adventures.

Photos of the Javan waterfall Tumpak Sewu appeared in the Internet not so long ago. Unfortunately, those pictures are distorted by photo editors. Nevertheless, I still wanted to go in the middle of the island and find out for myself how this place looks like.

After passing long hours in the traffic jams of the narrow Indonesian streets and passages I arrived there by nightfall, slightly losing my enthusiasm on the way. But, after descending to the waterfall at sunrise I have forgotten about everything as I saw the unreal view.

On a surface of 4 hectares I was looking at not one, but tens of waterfalls with thousands of tons of water falling from them. In order to feel the might and greatness of this natural complex you need to go down the bottom of the fall, and to see its beauty — you will have to rise above it.

These were the impressions of that place of Alexey Matveyev — a good friend of AirPano. And now here are some facts about this wonderful object of nature.

The multilevel waterfall Tumpak Sewu (another name — Coban Sewu) is situated in the eastern part of Javu, "in the shadow" of Semeru — the highest active volcano on the island. Its source is the melted ice water that gathers on the mountain. It also feeds the Glidik River. Both of them form a silhouette of a majestic "Tree of Life", that can be seen only from above.

Tumpak Sewu means "A thousand of waterfalls". They are 120 meters high. Though it is not a record even for Java, it has no rivals in beauty.

More and more tourists come to see the unusual waterfall. Special viewer platforms are made for their needs. The way down is very steep and takes an hour. You will have to cross a river and several cliffs, but it is worth it.

There are two main entrances to the waterfall: the eastern and western. It is considered, that the view from the East is better and the trip is easier. The best time to visit the place is during dry season (from April till November). In the rainy season it is dangerous because of the falling rocks and tree branches, and the roads "disappear" at some points.

You have the opportunity to see this beautiful waterfall from an unusual for a tourist view.

Photos and text by Alexey Matveyev

7 August 2019