Within two hours of teeming, tropical Jakarta, by private or public transportation, lies a quiet, hilly, verdant countryside where resident Sundanese live much as they have for decades.

At the foot of Mt. Gede and Pangrango, residents practice traditional agriculture in the midst of great scenic beauty in harmony with the natural surroundings. Farmers walk the area and tend their fields using a complex network of public foot paths known only, until now, locally. At altitudes of 600-1800 meters, temperatures are several degrees cooler than in Jakarta

A small band of Jakarta-based weekend explorers, including expatriates and Indonesians, learned during the Nineties to hike these many trails to unwind and relax. The hikers needed no special equipment because they could find food, drink and overnight shelter from locals who were pleased to assist for a modest sum.

But how could they remember the paths they had taken using trial and error and local assistance? They realized that accurate maps could be made using GPS.

Alex Korns together with a group of young Indonesian geographers decided to undertake the task, and explored the network of footpaths at the foot of the twin peaks in Bogor and Cianjur districts (kabupaten) with GPS. We have prepared 4 accurate maps of the paths in an area of 200 square kilometers, at a scale of 6 cm to the kilometer. The young Indonesian geographers in 2003 created their own organization (WIPA - Forum For Information On Nature Tourism). [ wipa@puncaktrek.com ]

This Site, named for the region, is to inform others about the hidden beauty of the area and the little-known ‘ring route’ for circumambulating Mt. Gede and Pangrango. It also presents a sample hike for walkers as well as information about the maps and how to purchase them. receives feedback from users of the hiking maps.

If you have questions and/or comments please contact puncaktrek@yahoo.com.

[Copyright ©by Alex Korns]