Old Cave in Tuban, East Java, named: "GUA AKBAR"

Penulis	:	Silhouette
Referensi	:	-
okasi	:	Gedongombo;Semanding;Tuban
Kordinat GPS	:	S6.905290 - E112.060350
Ketinggian	:	32 m
Fotografer	:	Silhouette

Tidak seperti layaknya goa alam lain yang berlokasi di tempat terpencil, Gua Akbar yang merupakan salah satu objek wisata andalan Kabupaten Tuban berada tepat di bawah pasar rakyat. Ramainya aktifitas jual beli di pasar sungguh sangat kontras dengan suasana hening diselingi gemercik air saat berada di dalam gua ini. Didalam gua ini juga dibangun sebuah kolam air tawar dengan menempatkan ikan mas didalamnya, otomatis hal ini memberikan nilai tambah tersendiri bagi pengunjung saat mengunjungi objek wisata ini.

Nama Akbar konon berasal dari nama sebuah pohon yang tumbuh didepan gua, yakni pohon Abar. Namun sumber lain menyebutkan nama Akbar tersebut diberikan oleh pemerintah Kabupaten Tuban yang merupakan akronim dari Aman, Kreatif, Bersih, Asri dan Rapi yang tak lain dan tak bukan adalah merupakan slogan dari Kabupaten Tuban itu sendiri.

	[navigasi.net] Gua - Gua Akbar Salah satu lorong gua yang cukup rendah sehingga pengunjung dewasa mesti menundukkan kepala saat melewatinya

Gua Akbar itu sendiri memiliki nilai religius. Diceritakan bahwa Sunan Bonang melihat gua ini saat diajak oleh Sunan Kalijogo yang saat itu masih bernama Raden Mas Sahid. Beberapa tempat di Gua Akbar dipercaya sebagai tempat Sunan Kalijogo dan Sunan Bonang pernah bertapa. Seperti ceruk yang diberi nama Pasepen Koro Sinandhi, yaitu tempat pintu yang dirahasiakan. Ceruk ini sangat kecil pintunya. Untuk masuk ke dalamnya, orang dewasa harus merangkak atau sekurangnya membungkuk. Oleh masyarakat sekitar dipercaya prosesi membungkuk ini memiliki makna filosofis yang tinggi, yakni pengunjung diingatkan bahwa di depan mata Allah semua harus merendahkan diri.

Pada sisi lain dari dalam gua terdapat sebuah ruangan yang bisa digunakan oleh pengunjung untuk melakukan ibadah sholat. Bagian ini memiliki lantai dasar gua yang telah dilapis keramik warna putih dan hitam sebagai penanda barisan sholat. Beberapa pengunjung tampak meluangkan waktu untuk sholat sejenak di tempat ini.

Sebuah ruangan yang cukup luas terdapat pula didalam gua ini diberi nama Paseban Wali yang dipercaya dulunya digunakan oleh para walisongo untuk berkumpul dan menyampaikan ajaran agama Islam. Suatu hal yang harus ditelaah lebih lanjut, mengingat Wali Songo hidup tidak persis pada zaman yang sama.

	[navigasi.net] Gua - Gua Akbar Pandangan Gua Akbar dari arah pintu masuk. Letak gua ini tepat berada dibawah pasar rakyat.

Namun demikian, Paseban Para Wali itu memang mirip ruang pertemuan. Adanya lubang-lubang di langit-langit goa hingga cahaya matahari masuk dalam bentuk jalur cahaya yang jelas. Stalaktit dan stalagmit juga seakan menjadi hiasan ruangan. Itu ditambah dengan adanya batu-batu besar yang terletak di bagian depan ruang, seakan menjadi podium bagi pembicara.

Sejak direnovasi pada tahun 1996, Gua Akbar semakin menarik untuk dikunjungi. Jalur jalan didalam gua terbuat dari paving block dengan pembatas pagar besi (sebagian diantaranya telah di krom) pada bagian sisinya tampak memberi kesan bersh dan rapi. Pagar pembatas tersebut sengaja dipasang agar pengunjung tidak sampai mengeksplorasi tanpa arah saat berada didalam gua. Cukup ikuti jalur yang telah dibuat tersebut otomatis seluruh bagian gua bisa dinikmati. Di berbagai tempat dipasang lampu-lampu warna-warni yang walau kurang bisa menunjukkan tekstur goa, namun cukup membuat suasana nyaman.

Jika anda berkunjung ke Kota Tuban, tidak ada salahnya menyempatkan diri untuk mengunjungi objek wisata Gua Akbar. Penataan yang apik dan bersih menjadikan objek wisata ini layak dijadikan objek wisata andalan Kabupaten Tuban.

Satwa nasional nantinya diharapkan dapat berfungsi sebagai identitas nasional yang mampu menumbuhkan semangat nasionalisme dan kebanggaan nasional bagi setiap warga Indonesia di pergaulan internasional.
Bertepatan dengan hari Tritura ke-27 tanggal 10 Januari 1993 ditetapkan tiga satwa langka sebagai satwa nasional oleh Presiden Republik Indonesia saat itu. Satwa darat komodo (Varanus komodoensis) ditetapkan sebagai satwa nasional, satwa tirta ikan siluk merah (Sclerophagus formosus) sebagai satwa pesona, dan satwa dirgantara elang jawa (Spizaetus bartelsi) sebagai satwa langka.
Tanggal 5 Nopember merupakan Hari Cinta Puspa dan Satwa Nasional.


Satwa Nasional: Komodo

Biawak komodo merupakan satwa darat yang sudah sangat populer di Indonesia, bahkan di mancanegara. Satu hal yang cukup membanggakan bahwa secara alami satwa ini hanya hidup di Indonesia, sehingga seringkali biawak komodo diidentikkan dengan Indonesia.
Klasifikasi selengkapnya dari 'kadal raksasa' ini:
Filum: Chordata
Anak filum: Vertebrata
Kelas: Reptilia
Bangsa: Squamata
Abak bangsa: Sauria
Suku: Varanidae
Marga: Varanus
Jenis: Varanus komodoensis


Satwa Pesona: Ikan Siluk Merah

Ikan siluk merah di kalangan masyarakat Indonesia sudah sangat populer, terutama di kalangan hobiis ikan hias. Sebagai ikan hias, ikan siluk merah mempunyai keistimewaan karena geraknya yang indah mempesona. Selain itu susunan sisiknya yang besar dan mengkilat merupakan daya pikat lain dari ikan hias ini.
Ikan siluk merah termasuk dalam marga Sclerophages, suku Osteoglossidae, dan bangsa Malacopterygii, dengan klasifikasi lengkap:
Filum: Chordata
Anak filum: Vertebrata
Kelas: Pisces
Anak kelas: Teleostei
Bangsa: Malacopterygii
Suku: Osteoglossidae
Marga: Sclerophages
Jenis: Sclerophages formosus


Satwa langka: Elang Jawa

Elang jawa (Spazaetus bartelsi) merupakan satwa dirgantara yang berukuran besar. Burung elang jawa merupakan salah satu spesies dari banyak spesies elang yang dikenal di Indonesia. nama belakang jenisnya, bartelsi, diberikan untuk menghormati orang yang pertama kali meneliti burung ini yaitu Hans Bartels.
Elang jawa termasuk marga Spizaetus, suku Accipitridae, dan bangsa Falconiformes, dengan klasifikasi lengkap:
Filum: Chordata
Anak filum: Vertebrata
Kelas: Aves
Bangsa: Falconiformes
Suku: Accipitridae
Anak suku: Aquilinae
Marga: Spizaetus
Jenis: Spizaetus bartelsi

Indonesian Culture

Indonesia consists of at least 300 ethnic groups, spread over a 1.8 million Km² area of 6,000 inhabited islands. This creates a cultural diversity, further compounded by Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and European colonialist influences.

From the 3rd century until the 13th century, Hinduism and Buddhism shaped the culture of Indonesia. The best-preserved Buddhist shrine, which was built during the Sailendra dynasty in the 8th century, is Borobudur temple in Central Java. A few kilometers to the southeast is the Prambanan complex, a Hindu temple built during the second Mataram dynasty. Both the Borobudur and the Prambanan temple compounds have been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1991. In Bali, where most Hindus live, cultural festivals are major attractions to foreign tourists.

Islam has also contributed greatly to the cultural society in Indonesia. As of 2006, about 88% of Indonesians are Moslem. Islamic culture is prominent in Sumatra, and a few of the remaining sultanate palaces can be seen in Medan and Pekanbaru.

Despite foreign influences, a diverse array of indigenous traditional cultures is still evident in Indonesia. The indigenous ethnic group of Toraja in South Sulawesi, which still has strong animisticMinangkabau ethic group retain a unique matrilineal culture, despite being devoted Muslims. Other indigenous ethnic groups include the Asmat and Dani in Papua, Dayak in Kalimantan and Mentawai in Sumatra, where traditional rituals are still observed. beliefs, offers a unique cultural tradition, especially during funeral rituals. The

A discussion of cultural tourism is not complete without a mention of Yogyakarta, a special province in Indonesia known as centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture. The rise and fall of Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic kingdoms in Central Java has transformed Yogyakarta into a melting pot of Indonesian culture.

LET'S SURF INDONESIA

Surf Breaks

Surfing is also a popular water activities in Indonesia and the sites are recognized as world class sites. The well-known spots are mostly located on the southern, Indian Ocean side of Indonesia, for example, large oceanic surf breaks on southern Java. However, the north coast does not receive the same surf from the Java Sea. Surf breaks can be found all the way along Sumatra, down to Nusa Tenggara, including Aceh, Bali, Banten, Java, Lombok, Mentawai Islands, and Sumbawa. On Bali, there are about 33 surf spots, from West Bali to East Bali. Sumatra is the second island with the most number of surf spots, with 18 spots. The common time for surfing is around May to September with the trade winds blowing from east to south-east. From October to April, winds tend to come from the west to north-west, so east coast breaks get the offshore winds.

Two well-known surf breaks in Indonesia are the G-Land in the Bay of Grajagan, East Java and Lagundri Bay at the southern end of Nias island. G-Land was first identified in 1972 when a surfer saw the break from the window of a plane. Since 6 to 8 foot (Hawaiian scale) waves were discovered by surfers at Lagundri Bay in 1975 the island has become famous for surfing worldwide.

Tourist's Attractions

Nature Tourism

Indonesia has well-preserved natural ecosystem such as rainforests that stretch over about 57% of Indonesia's land (225 million acres) and about 2% of them are mangrove. One reason why the natural ecosystem in Indonesia is still well-preserved is because only 6,000 islands out of 17,000 are permanently inhabited. Forests on Sumatra and Java are examples of popular tourists destinations. Moreover, Indonesia has one of longest coastlines in the world, measuring 54,716 km, with a number of beaches and island resorts, such as those in southern Bali, Lombok, Bintan and Nias Island. However, most of the well-preserved beaches are those in more isolated and less developed areas such as Karimunjawa, the Togian Islands, and the Banda Islands.

Dive Sites

With more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia presents ample diving opportunities. Bunaken at the northern tip of Sulawesi, claims to have seven times more genera of coral than Hawaii, and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific. Moreover, there are over 3,500 species living in Indonesian waters, including sharks, dolphins, manta rays, turtles, morays, cuttlefish, octopus and scorpionfish, compared to 1,500 on the Great Barrier Reef and 600 in the Red Sea. Tulamben Bay in Bali boasts the wreck of a 120 meter (400 ft) US Army commissioned transport vessel, the USAT Liberty Glo. Beside Bunaken and Bali, Lombok, with three Gilis (Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan), Thousand Islands and Bangka are some of the most popular diving sites in Indonesia.

Indonesia Tourism Statictics Year 2000-2007

Tourism Statistics

Indonesian Tourism Statistics
Year	Int'l Visitors	Avrg Stay (Days)
2000	5,064,217	12.26
2001	5,153,620	10.49
2002	5,033,400	9.79
2003	4,467,021	9.69
2004	5,321,165	9.47
2005	5,002,101	9.05
2006	4,871,351	9.09
2007	5,505,759	9.02

As with most countries, domestic tourists are by far the largest market segment. The biggest movement of domestic tourists is during the annual Ied'el-Fitr, locally known as "lebaran". During this period, which is a 2 week holiday after the month of Ramadhan fasting, many city-dwelling Moslem Indonesians visit relatives in their home towns. Intercity traffic is at its peak and often an additional surcharge is applied during this time.

Over the 5 years up to 2006, attention has been focused on generating more domestic tourism. Competition amongst budget airlines has increased the number of domestic air travelers throughout the country. Recently, the Ministry of Labor of Republic Indonesia legislated to create long weekends by combining public holidays that fall close to weekends, except in the case of important religious holidays. During these long weekends, most hotels in popular destinations are fully booked.

Since 2000, there have been, on average, 5 million foreign tourists each year, who spend an average of US$ 100 per day (see table). With an average visit duration of 9-12 days, Indonesia gains US$ 4.6 billion of foreign exchange income annually. This makes tourism Indonesia's third most important non-oil/gas source of foreign revenue, after timber and textile products.

Three quarters of Indonesia's visitors come from the Asia Pacific region, with Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Korea among the top five markets. The United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands are the largest sources of European visitors. Although Dutch visitors are at least in part keen to explore the historical relationships, many European visitors are seeking the tropical weather at the beaches in Bali.

A Must Knowledge for Tourism Institute Students

Tourism in Indonesia is an important component of the Indonesian economy and an important source of foreign exchange revenues. With a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the second longest shoreline in the world, 300 different ethnic groups and 250 distinct languages, and tropical climate throughout the year, nature and culture are two major components of Indonesian tourism.

Tourism in Indonesia is currently overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. International tourist campaigns have been focusing largely on tropical destination with white sand beaches and blue sky imagery. Beach resorts and hotels were developed in some Indonesia islands, with Bali island as the primary destination. Cultural tourism is also an important part of Indonesia tourism industry. Toraja, Prambanan and Borobudur temples, Yogyakarta and Minangkabau are popular destinations for cultural tourism, apart from many Hindu festivities in Bali. About 5 million foreign tourists have visited Indonesia annually since 2000.

However, tourism development had sometimes clashed with local people, that has created criticism over Indonesia's tourism industry. Most of the disputes were related over land possession, local traditions (adat) and the impact of tourism development to the local people. In another area, tourism industry in Indonesia faces major threats. Since 2002, several warnings have been issued by some countries over terrorist threats and ethnic/religious conflicts in some areas, which significantly reduces the number of foreign visitors.

Vietnam tourism is extremely growing up

This is a post from an Indonesian friend named Raimaster, who's still on overland tour in Hanoi-Vietnam, and let's check the comments about tourism in Vietnam.
This post was taken from: http://pariwisata.net/ on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008.

==============================================================

Dear temans dan kawans,

sekedar share informasi:
Ini hari ke 7 saya tour overland Vietnam dari 14 hari yang saya
rencanakan. Sekarang sedang di Hoi An (kota pelabuhan tua) Vietnam
tengah, enam hari lalu saya habiskan di vietnam utara (hanoi, halong
bay, vinh binh) kemudian terbang ke Hue, lalu Danang dan Hoi An..
dan lusa saya terbang ke vietnam selatan, saigon terus ke delta
sungai Mekong.

Pendapat saya tentang Vietnam: Waaaw... luar biasa. Vietnam adalah
ancaman sangat serius buat parawisata Indonesia. Kita disalip
malaysia, dan semakin sulit menyalip singapura dan thailand, akankah
kita disalip lagi oleh Vietnam???

Saya jadi berfikir kalau kita menjual pemandangan atau keramah
tamahan, atau service, kita akan terkejar dalam 5 tahun kedepan.
Mulai dari hanoi hingga Hoi An banyak sekali saya jumpai turis,
utamanya dari perancis. Atraksi wisata tidak melulu mengandalkan
pemandangan, tapi emosi kita di bawa juga.. seperti di dry halong
dimana kita dibawa naik sampan menyusuri karang terjal dan beberapa
kali sampan masuk menembus goa karang. Mungkin bila turis pernah
kesini trus di bawa ke bukit tinggi.. hmm paling hanya senyum, tidak
kagum. Begitu juga dari Hue dibawa ke Keraton Jogya atau Solo, malu
lah kita. Halong Bay sangat memikat dengan 1000 lebih pulau besar
dan kecil.

Di Danang kota ke 4 terbesar sedang dibangun banyak hotel bintang 4
dan lima, sementara Hoi An, 25 km dr Danang adalah kota pelabuhan
tua yang sangat memikat, juga banyak sekali turis disini, seperti
halnya Legian Bali, tetapi secara tata kelola wilayah jauh lebih
menarik dan nyentrik, lebih teratur.

Singkat kata: transportasi bagus, service bagus, makanan enak dan
harga2 relatif murah, akomodasi bagus, bahkan setiap hotel tempat
saya menginap menyediakan internet gratis buat tamunya..

Tapi kekurangan Vietnam dari kita adalah: kita punya pulau komodo,
orang hutan, kekayaan bawah laut, banyak pulau, gunung api,
keragaman kultur dan kesenian yang tak mungkin dikalahkan. Soal
keindahan alam? ah kita bukan yang terbaik, bahkan pantai2 di Bali
tidak masuk dalam hitungan.

Laluuuu....? tunggu laporan saya dari Vietnam Selatan, karena saya
juga penasaran.. kenapa sekarang Vietnam begitu digemari di Eropa.

salam
Raimaster
==============================================================


That is our friend's experience from Vietnam in Bahasa (language) Indonesia, which is still in Asia, even we are still better that Vietnam, but why they could be running so fast chasing up the other countries standard of tourism industry? Then what is you comment about our tourism condition? Satisfied on this level / stage only? If not, post your ideas to develop our tourism in Indonesia to this public posting track our email address: post.your.tourism.info@gmail.com
Thank you for blogging in to our blogspot.

Whatchout Bali! Bima Regency (Nusa Tenggara Province) is Fastly Growing.

Source of news / info: http://www.nusatenggaranews.com/

Tourism in Bima Regency of Nusa Tenggara Province is preparing a good way to develop their tourism live in there. BIMA's local government is starting to develop several of their tourism potential assets and make the target to get 2,200 visits by local (Indonesians) and overseas tourists. Head of Culture and Tourism Office in Bima Regency, Mr. Drs.Zainudin Abdul Hamid, B.E. is optimistly hoping and convinced that all efforts and commintments by the government and Bima's people will hit the target.
***** For completely news, please click on this URL: http://www.nusatenggaranews.com/mod.php?mod=publisher&op=viewarticle&cid=10&artid=3830 *****

That's the tourism plan from Bima Regency, Nusa Tenggara Province. What about your province? If there is any critics from people in your place to every single department who's related to the tourism development responsibilities in your place, just post it to us. We are trying to make all tourism development will be fair enough to all regencies in Indonesia.

Undeserved Public Facilities in Tourism Objects

For you who cares to Indonesia's tourism development, we are pleased to receive your post(s) regarding any information you got from your own experience(s) either from your colleague(s). Information must be valid, which means you have to always attach the picture and it's specified information when you got that experience(s).

Please post us whenever and wherever you found an uncomfortable situation when you had a tour / trip in tourist destinations in Indonesia, such as: No Trash Bin in Public Area, No Tourist Police Officer in Their Street Station, Cracked Direct Signs, Bad Food in Formal Restaurant, No Water / Public Dispensers in Public Area (Kuta Beach), etc.

Posted information must be also attached with your Letter of Permission which allows us to upload and publish your post(s) and/or comment(s), but without that letter (email), we will never upload and publish any of you your post(s). Have a nice blogging.