Are you looking for a place that will boost your creativity in writing? Do you want a different atmosphere from your ordinary day to day environment of a hectic and noisy big city? If your answer is "Yes", Pagar Alam maybe the right place for you to go to. It is a cool tourist resort rich with beautiful landscapes, natural appeal, and far away from polluted air of industrial cities. At a distance of about 300 km, an 8 hour-trip by bus from Palembang, the Capital of South Sumatra Province, on the way to Bengkulu, lies a small town of Pagar Alam. It occupies an area of about 633.66 km² with population of about 124,799. This town is more popular among mountain hikers because of its location on the foot of Mount Dempo which is towering at 3,159 m above sea level.
Wondering how you can go to this beautiful town? From Palembang you can go to this town by bus from Karya Jaya Bus Terminal in Kertapati. Or you can go by traveler's car if you want to be more comfortable while traveling to this destination. However, you have to pay a higher fare if you go by traveler's car. If you do not have much time to be spent on the road, there is a good news for you. Since March 13, 2014, you can go to Pagar Alam by plane from Palembang. Initially, the flight by Susi Air was only available once a week, namely every Thursday. However, since the demand of travel by plane was high, the frequency of flight was increased to 4 times a week, on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It takes only 45 minutes of flight from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang to Atung Bungsu Airport in Pagar Alam.
What attractions are offered by the town of Pagar Alam? As indicated by its name, the town of Pagar Alam which literally means Nature's Fence, is surrounded by mountainous regions whose top is Mount Dempo, and hilly regions called Bukit Barisan (Rows of Hills) which span over the regions of Pasemah, Lintang Empat Lawang, Lubuk Linggau, up to Bengkulu Province. Pagar Alam is located on high land, but it is comparatively lower compared to the surrounding areas. It can be called a valley when you see it from the top of Mount Dempo. Because of its mild weather, Pagar Alam has fertile land on which the people plant various kinds of vegetables and fruits. It is a popular source of vegetables for other towns and cities which lie hundreds of kilometers away from this town. Besides vegetables, the slope of Mount Dempo has also been known as the producer of tea leaves for almost a hundred years. If you climb Mount Dempo, you will see the expanse of tea plantation. It is truly a change of sight to the people living in a big city far away from the mountain. The tea plantation on the slopes of Mount Dempo is one of the most popular tourist resort in Pagar Alam.
In addition to its beautiful natural landscapes, Pagar Alam is also rich with ancient treasures in the form of megalithic relics and statues found in various areas in this town. The finding of so many megalithic relics and statues in this town has made this town a candidate for the UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Pagar Alam also has another natural wonder in the form of waterfalls of various heights. These waterfalls have not been utilized and managed as tourist attractions. This town truly has a lot to offer as a tourist destination.
Majelis is a librarian, an English teacher, and a translator working at the Library of Graduate Program of Sriwijaya University (Pascasarjana Unsri), Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. You can contact him via his website: http://www.pemburu-dolar.com
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