There are some "warung" (food stalls) at "Cemoro Sewu", Sepakung, and one which is next to a parking lot owned by a young woman sells an authentic traditional Javanese dish, "Gendar Pecel". Will you order this food anytime you go there?
"Cemoro Sewu", Javanese words for "a thousand pine trees" is located 1 km after "Gumuk Reco" Sepakung. It is also known as "Lembah Telomoyo" (Telomoyo Valley).
As the road to "Cemoro Sewu" is narrow. So if you intend to go there, you should take a motorcycle. It's also for your safety. You don't want to get a trouble, do you? Imagine, while you are driving a car on a steep narrow road that just enough for one car and suddenly there is another car or small truck carrying some wood on the opposite direction.
According to Umar, a ticket officer, "Cemoro Sewu" has been officially opened for public since a year ago. Unfortunately he doesn't know the total area of it, and he said that there was a small walkway to "Kali Pancur" from there. And while we were having a conversation, a friend of his entered the ticket counter carrying a plate of "Pecel". The dish looked yummy, I would have it for my lunch, I said to myself but of course after exploring "Cemoro Sewu".
"Cemoro Sewu" is Javanese words for "a thousand pine trees", although in the reality there are not many. Even I saw some guava trees. And many people may be confused by naming "Cemoro Sewu" as it is already a name for a famous tourist attraction in Magetan Regency as a hiking trail to the top of mount Lawu, and it is also a name of a beach, "Cemara Sewu Beach", located between "Gumuk Pasir Barchan (sand dunes) - Parangkusumo" and "Depok Beach - Bantul".
Take a light trek to the valley of Telomoyo you need to be careful as the stairs are still natural or uncemented and may be slippery during rainy season.
Having explore "Cemoro Sewu" I discovered a similarity with "Gumuk Reco", both possess peaceful and amazing views of lake Rawa Pening and mount Gajah Mungkur. In addition, if you like you can have a thrilling experience of swinging high above a slope for IDR 5k (USD 0.40) here. It's so cheap, isn't it?
As the road to "Cemoro Sewu" is narrow. So if you intend to go there, you should take a motorcycle. It's also for your safety. You don't want to get a trouble, do you? Imagine, while you are driving a car on a steep narrow road that just enough for one car and suddenly there is another car or small truck carrying some wood on the opposite direction.
According to Umar, a ticket officer, "Cemoro Sewu" has been officially opened for public since a year ago. Unfortunately he doesn't know the total area of it, and he said that there was a small walkway to "Kali Pancur" from there. And while we were having a conversation, a friend of his entered the ticket counter carrying a plate of "Pecel". The dish looked yummy, I would have it for my lunch, I said to myself but of course after exploring "Cemoro Sewu".
"Cemoro Sewu" is Javanese words for "a thousand pine trees", although in the reality there are not many. Even I saw some guava trees. And many people may be confused by naming "Cemoro Sewu" as it is already a name for a famous tourist attraction in Magetan Regency as a hiking trail to the top of mount Lawu, and it is also a name of a beach, "Cemara Sewu Beach", located between "Gumuk Pasir Barchan (sand dunes) - Parangkusumo" and "Depok Beach - Bantul".
Take a light trek to the valley of Telomoyo you need to be careful as the stairs are still natural or uncemented and may be slippery during rainy season.
Having explore "Cemoro Sewu" I discovered a similarity with "Gumuk Reco", both possess peaceful and amazing views of lake Rawa Pening and mount Gajah Mungkur. In addition, if you like you can have a thrilling experience of swinging high above a slope for IDR 5k (USD 0.40) here. It's so cheap, isn't it?
Before going home, I didn't want to neglect my lunch at "Cemoro Sewu". I decided to order "Pecel". And soon I realized when I started eating it. Undoubtedly it was "Gendar Pecel", a popular dish from Salatiga, Boyolali and Surakarta (three cities in Central Java) which is now rarely to be found.
What makes is it different with other "pecel"? (see: Nasi Pecel Pincuk (Indonesian salad) Nanggulan - Salatiga and Pecel Kecombrang). The accompaniment for "Pecel" is "Gendar" instead of "lontong" (compressed rice cake). "Gendar" is made from rice and other ingredients to make it soft and chewy.
Lina, the seller, serves it with some boiled vegetables, such as "adas" (foeniculum vulgare mill), cabbage, mustard green, sliced fresh cucumber, sliced "bakwan jagung" (corn fritter) then mix all with peanut sauce which she makes it traditionally by using a pestle and mortar, and finally added "krupuk" (Indonesian crackers) prior to be served.
A plate of "Gendar Pecel" with one additional "tempe fritter" and a glass of tea is at IDR 7k (USD 0.50).
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| Lina is preparing "Gendar Pecel" with a pestle and mortar |
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| a portion of "Gendar Pecel" |
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| Gendar |
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| tempe (soybean) fritters - fried with seasoned flour |
Cemoro Sewu
Location
Djingkol Hamlet, Sepakung Village, Banyubiru Sub-district, Semarang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia.
Opening Hours
Daily 08.00 am - 05.00 pm
Entrance fee
Adult/children IDR 5k (USD 0.40)