Puncak Tea Plantations

The Puncak pass climbs from Bogor towards Cianjur between Gede and Pangrango, and the slopes on either side were planted with tea from the nineteenth century - Gunung Mas, Ciliwung and the neighbouring estates cover the hillsides in the clipped green that is the standard image of highland Java, with pickers working the rows and a factory at Gunung Mas that runs tours. Cool air an hour and a half from Jakarta made this the capital's weekend hill country from the colonial period onwards, and the consequence is severe: the two-lane pass road is so congested at weekends that the authorities run a one-way system reversing direction through the day, and the journey can take many hours. Villas and attractions have spread across the slopes, with real concern about water catchment and landslides.

What you actually see

• Colonial-era tea slopes - Gunung Mas and the neighbouring estates on both sides.
• A factory tour - processing at Gunung Mas, by arrangement.
• A reversing one-way road - the traffic system that runs on weekends.
• Villa sprawl - the development across what was catchment forest.

When to go

May to September; weekdays without exception. A day.

Honest expectations

Weekend traffic on the Puncak is genuinely severe - hours in a queue is normal, and the one-way reversal can strand you. Development has damaged the catchment and landslides occur.

Nearby

Cibodas garden and Gede Pangrango are south; Bogor is north.