Hidden Beauty of Sempu Island, Malang East Java Indonesia

You like quiet place, where is no one around, isolated from the outside world, Sempu Island in Indonesia is the right place for you.
Natural tourism becomes trend recently. It gives us special touch to refresh our body and soul after pressuring of office time.  Nature offers us relaxation and unconciously brings us understanding who we are as a human being between God and natural environment.
Sempu Island is a small island in the south of Java Island. This island is in Malang District, East Java province. It has wide around 877 hectare and formally becomes a sanctuary under the goverment  since 1928. Based on finding in 2000, there are 223 kinds of plants, 144 more kinds of birds species, mamals, and others.

Geographically, Sempu Island is in 112°40’54”- 112°42’45” east longitude and 8°27’24”- 8°24’54” south latitude. This island is border on Sendang Biru beach in the north and Hindia Ocean in the east, shouth and west.

Visiting this island needs 4-5 hours from Malang city by car. You can rent a car or using public transportation. Before reaching Sempu Island, you will be in Sendang Biru Beach first. It is a fisherman market. Form Sendang Biru, you can rent a boat to reach Sempu Island. It needs 15 minutes.

After you reach the island, you still need to walk for an hour through the muddy jungle. Follow the existing track or you might get lost, I did get lost, which doubled my journey’s time.

What to expect?

1. No electricity, bring some flashlight or prepare to make a campfire.
2. No signal for your cellphone, it is really an isolated island; try to be Tom Hanks (previously written Kevin Costner, LOL, sorry) in Cast Away.
3. Sun block is very important, since you are outdoors all the time.
4. If you don’t like to cook, bring some food.
5. Outdoor camping utilities are necessary; tent, sleeping bag, etc.
6. Bring drinking water in sufficient amount during your length of stay.
7. A condom is useful to reserve water or to use it for your pocket camera. My friends did that with the result, we had some nice underwater pictures in the lagoon.

What to do?

1. Swimming is very safe in the lagoon, you may feel the sense of oceanic water, but you won’t sweep away.
2. You may try to sleep outside of your tent in the night, gaze the stars behind your sleeping bag.
3. Take some pictures.
4. Experience the spectacular view of the Indian Ocean above the corals near the lagoon.
5. Or you just lay on the sand from dawn to set, no one will disturb you, it’s so quiet there. In fact, when I was there, there were only myself and a few friends on the island.

Another kind of beauty can be found on the island Sempu how could swim in water that is very clear that real-time clumps, and for those who have a love for diving are free to enjoy the scenery under the water, because this place has a very civilized, without having to participate in a wave resistance of coral reef.

Other interesting places on the island of Pasir Panjang. Here the atmosphere can be balanced with the beautiful beaches of "beach" stars of the film on the big screen Leonardo Di Caprio atmosphere.

The difference is that the beach is closed and not directly related to the sea. Very nice, hard to describe with words. By the formation of tiller Nina by sea water, which is directly connected to the Indian Ocean, which broke through the cracks in the cliff of the floodplain.
The most exotic part of Sempu Island is its lagoon, Segara Anakan. It is like a lake with salty water where is bordered by high reef. The supply of the water is from ocean when the high wave bring it into the border reef. You can enjoy swimming withouth worry with current wave.  If you like snorkling, it also has beautiful underwater panorama. You can also enjoy the white sand by laying down or playing outdoor volley ball.
Telaga Lele becomes favourite place for the visitor to build a tent. It’s caused that Lele Lake (Telaga Lele) is a freshwater lake. If you’re lucky, you will see some wild animals like leopard or panther visit this lake for drinking.
Let you know that there is no hotel and restaurant here. So if you want to visit this island, you have to prapare by yourself about the tent, meal, medicine, light and water.