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The mountainous region to the north of Bandung is the heart of the Parahyangan Highlands - the "Home of the Gods" - a highly volcanic area considered by the Sundanese to be the nucleus of their spiritual world. A very pleasant day out from Bandung on public transport takes you first to the 1830-metre-high Tangkuban Prahu volcano , the most visited volcano in West Java, 29km north of Bandung. Although it hasn't had a serious eruption for many years, the volcano still spews out vast quantities of sulphurous gases and at least one of its ten craters is still considered to be active. To get there from Bandung, take a Subang minibus from the train station (30min; Rp1500) and ask to be put down at the turn-off for the volcano, where there's a Rp1250 entrance fee. From here you can either charter an ojek or minibus up the asphalt road to the summit (10min; Rp5000) or walk up - it's about 4km up the road, or there's a good footpath via the Domas Crater, which starts just over 1km up the road from the guard post, to the right by the first car park. The information booth at the summit car park has details about crater walks; lots of guides will offer their services, but it's pretty obvious where you should and shouldn't go - just be sure to wear strong hiking boots. The main crater is called Kawah Ratu and is the one you can see down into from the end of the summit road, a huge dull grey cauldron with a few coloured lakes. From the summit you can trek down to Domas Crater , site of a small working sulphur mine. On the return journey from Tangkuban Prahu to Bandung you'll pass through Lembang, where you should change on to a minibus for the resort of MARIBAYA (4km; Rp500). There are waterfalls near the entrance gate and hot springs, which have been tapped into a public pool. Further down is the largest waterfall , which you have to pay extra to see. An ugly iron bridge has been built right across the lip of the falls, and this is the starting point for a wonderful walk down to the Dago Tea House on the edge of Bandung (6km; 2hr). The path winds downhill through a gorge and forests - just before the teahouse are tunnels used by the Japanese in World War II and the Dago waterfall, which lies amongst bamboo thickets. At the end of your walk is the teahouse, with private tables under their own thatched roofs, and superb views over Bandung city. From here there are plenty of minibuses heading back into the centre of town (15min; Rp500).
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