Candi Cangkuang

Candi Cangkuang stands on an island in a small lake near Leles and is the only Hindu temple still standing in West Java - a modest square andesite shrine of perhaps the eighth century with a Shiva image inside, found in fragments in 1966 and reconstructed in the 1970s, which means what you see is substantially rebuilt from scattered stones. Beside it is the grave of Embah Dalem Arief Muhammad, a seventeenth-century figure credited with bringing Islam to the area, so a Hindu temple and a Muslim saint's tomb share a small island. Around them is Kampung Pulo, a village of six houses and one prayer hall that by custom may never be added to or reduced. Access is by bamboo raft poled across the lake, which is most of the pleasure of the visit.

What you actually see

• West Java's only standing Hindu temple - reconstructed from fragments in the 1970s.
• A saint's grave beside it - the Muslim tomb sharing the island with the shrine.
• Kampung Pulo - six houses and a prayer hall, fixed by custom at that number.
• A bamboo raft crossing - poled over the lake to reach the island.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The temple is a modern reconstruction and small - fifteen minutes covers it. The lake is shallow and weedy. Rafts are shared and wait to fill. The village asks visitors to respect its customs.

Nearby

Garut and Papandayan are south; Bandung is west.