IO – The vast territory of Indonesia with its different natural forms makes this country rich in natural beauty. One of the natural attractions that is enough to test one’s adrenaline is green canyon, better known by its local name, Cukang Taneuh, which means a land bridge in Sundanese. This bridge is located above the river that is passed by visitors, where the bridge is used to cross to the surrounding community.
The name Green Canyon (green canyon) is said to have been popularized by Bill Jhon, a French tourist in 1993. This refers to the Grand Canyon tourism object in Colorado America, perhaps because it has the same exoticism or abundant green water and moss so tourists gave the name Green Canyon. Green Canyon is located in Kertayasa Village, Ciamis, West Java, about 31 Km or 45 minutes drive from Pangandaran.
In addition to enjoying its natural beauty, in this place there are also other attractions of body rafting that can pump the adrenaline. The tourists can explore the fast flowing river of approximately five to ten kilometers. If you usually sail through the river with a boat, in this place according to the name, body rafting. Thus, we only rely on physical ability. There are two routes offered, namely 5 kilometers (2-3 hours) and 10 kilometers (3-4 hours), with starting points on the Cijulang River and ending at Green Canyon.
Before starting body rafting, tourists must use safety equipments with safety standards such as using helmets, buoys, and special sandals. Each group will be guided by three to five guides according to the number of participants. When ready, tourists must travel by riding a pickup truck for about 45 minutes to get to the starting point. Arriving at the destination point, we are required to walk down the forest to get to the valley.
Five of my friends and I chose a route that was 10 kilometers away, we swam through fairly friendly currents to a predetermined point. Arriving at the second point the challenge begun, we are required to jump from a three meter high rock to continue to the next point.
Next, we were challenged to jump from a cliff with a height of almost 17 meters. For those who are less courageous the guide will take you to a lower point, which is to a cliff with a height of approximately five to seven meters. All five of my friends had jumped into the water and it was my turn to jump but, I wasn’t so brave at that time because it felt like someone committing suicide. Nonetheless, I challenged myself to eliminate my fear and finally jumped into the water from a cliff with a height of 17 meters .
For those who cannot swim but still want to try this tour, there is no need to worry, because each group is accompanied by a guide who is ready to help. As the journey continues, the challenge began to vary, in addition to jumping from high cliffs we would also go down a high cliff bordering the river and river rocks. Under the cliff there is a flow called cascade blender(jeram blender) which is quite dangerous for beginners.
The day before I did body rafting, it rained so much that it made the water flow higher and heavily. When we arrived at the rapids, the guide did not allow us to enter into it due to the heavy river currents. In order to try to avoid the rapids we had to duck under a cliff. All the fatigue paid off because behind the cliff there was a natural waterfall that flushed down making it seem as though we were in the water.
After getting tired of several obstacles, we found a rest area where there was a drink and food seller. Because during body rafting it is not recommended to bring money and other necessities so, all purchases of food and drinks will be calculated at the end of the trip. The journey continued to the end with a variety of obstacles, starting to jump from a height, fighting a heavy river flow and body that felt sick because it hit a rock in the river.
Fatigue and pain in the body, all pays off with beautiful scenery and adrenaline rush that was tested along the river. Green canyon has eternal rain, droplets of water that penetrate the cracks of the cliff roof and seep down in the form of raindrops where water quota never runs out. This is because on the cliff there is a small flow of water from the path of a small spring that penetrates under the canyon so, the effects of rain arise from thousands of water droplets that continue to fall.
Arriving at the end point there will be a boat waiting to take us to the bank of the river. So don’t be afraid of things you can’t do, test yourself with all the challenges and test your adrenaline on the green canyon. (Mahrayuni)