Bengkulu City (Bencoolen) is the capital of Bengkulu Province, Indonesia. This city is the second largest city on the west coast of Sumatra Island, after Padang City. Previously this area was a unit with the Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam, then controlled by the British before being handed over to the Dutch. This city was also the place of exile for Bung Karno in the period 1939–1942 during the Dutch East Indies government.
In Bengkulu there are a number of quite popular tourist attractions. So, without further ado, let's discuss what are the popular tourist attractions in Bengkulu province.
12 Most Popular Tourist Attractions in Bengkulu Province.
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| Padang Betuah Beach, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
1. Padang Betuah Beach
Padang Betuah Beach is in Padang Betuah Village, Central Bengkulu Regency, Bengkulu Province bordering North Bengkulu. The location is not too far from the city center, around 29 kilometers, approximately 44 minutes drive from Bengkulu City.
Padang Betuah Beach presents a lot of beauty. The green sea water plus the curves of the coral make this beach often referred to as Tanah Lot Beach in Bali.
This exotic beach has beautiful white sand, the waves are not too big. The beauty of coral rocks has many contours, cracks due to abrasion, making it a combination of enchanting natural beauty.
"If tourists see it from the top of a rock or hill. It really is a perfect beach with a ton of beauty," said one of the tourists who visited this beach.
Tourists can feast their eyes in the morning and evening in the Padang Betuah Beach area. In the morning, the beautiful Bukit Barisan mountain range looks dashing from afar.
The sweep of the morning sun creates a very attractive mountain diorama. Likewise, in the afternoon, orange covers the expanse of dusk separating the lake and the beach. It's really amazing.
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| Panjang Beach (Long Beach), Bengkulu, Indonesia |
2. Panjang Beach
Panjang Beach is a beach in Bengkulu Province. This beach has a coastline that reaches 7 km and a beach width of around 500 meters. Panjang Beach is located in Ratu Agung District, Teluk Segara District, & Ratu Samban District. The location of this beach is about 4 km from the city center. Panjang Beach is located parallel to Tapak Paderi Beach and Zakat Beach.
Panjang Beach is often used by tourists and the local community. There is a Sports Center there so that people can do sports activities such as beach volleyball, walking and surfing. In the morning and evening, the beach is usually filled with people jogging on the beach. The waves at Panjang Beach are widely used by visitors for surfing. Panjang Beach in Bengkulu has many facilities including restaurants, cafes, accommodation, play areas, shopping centers, and sports facilities.
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| Curug Sembilan, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
3. Curug Sembilan
Bengkulu Province has a lot of natural riches that can be used as tourist attractions. Apart from being called the Earth of Rafflesia, it is also known as the Earth of a Thousand Waterfalls. One of the tourist attractions in Bengkulu province which is considered the most interesting for tourists to visit is Curug 9 which is located in Tanah Hitam Village, Padang Jaya District.
Curug 9 waterfall is also known as the 9 level waterfall. This view is very pleasing to the eye because the 9 levels of the waterfall can be seen directly along with the flow of the river where the waterfall spills.
The conditions of very cold water and fresh air are perfect for making this place unwind, or a place to relax and forget about problems for a moment. In fact, this kind of waterfall is said to be the only one in Bengkulu Province.
Visitors will also be pampered by the pristine forest atmosphere with its flora and fauna. Around the Curug 9 location, it is also known that there are still harmless forest animals.
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| Way Hawang Beach, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
4. Way Hawang Beach
Way Hawang Beach is located in Way Hawang village, Maje District, Kaur Regency. The distance is 15 km east of Bintuhan City which is the capital of Kaur Regency, and 224 km from the capital Bengkulu. This beach has white sand, calm and clear water.
Way Hawang Beach is an interesting tourist spot to visit, because it has natural panoramas and unique phenomena. For example, rocks in the shape of junks or boats, often called Jung rocks.
Way Hawang Beach is also a stopover place for two types of marine animals, namely hawksbill turtles and olive ridley turtles which come during the nesting season.
If visitors come when the turtles are ready to be released, you can have the opportunity to release baby turtles into the open sea.
For those of you who want to travel in nature and want to experience a different sensation in enjoying the beautiful beach. Way Hawang Beach is the right choice for you on holiday, and has the opportunity to release baby turtles into the wide ocean.
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| Linau Beach, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
5. Linau Beach
Linau Beach is located in Linau Village, Maje District, Kaur Regency. Kaur is a district that borders Lampung Province. The distance from Bengkulu city is around 250km.
Here, you can enjoy exotic sea views: clear bright blue water as well as the opportunity to hunt octopus and eat it with local residents.
The characteristic of Linau Beach is that it is an octopus habitat. Local fishermen also use octopus as their mainstay marine product.
When visiting, you will also be given the opportunity to see, and even get involved in octopus hunting. You will see octopus hunting using local traditional tools. The sensation of hunting octopuses on a beautiful beach will be an experience that you will not find on other beaches.
After hunting, you will be invited to process and eat the catch. Cut it into pieces, make it into satay, or other preparations. Not only that, in the surrounding area there are other traditional culinary snacks that you can enjoy with friends and family.
Another attraction of Linau Beach is the condition of the beach. The white sand is quite dark and the water is gentle. The area around the beach is full of trees, giving it a beautiful and natural feel. You can swim and enjoy the calm waves.
For facilities, there are a number of hotels and homestays available around Kaur Regency.
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| Fort Marlborough, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
6. Fort Marlborough
The next tourist attraction is a historical tourist attraction, namely Fort Marlborough. This fort is located on a land area of 44,000 meters2; Its physical size is around 240 x 170 m. The height of the walls varies from 8 to 8.50 meters, with a thickness of 1.85 to 3 meters. The fort's defenses consisted of 72 cannons. Inside the fort there are several rows of buildings with triangular roofs.
Marlborough Fort is a British defensive fort built by the East India Company (EIC) in 1714-1719.
On the inside of the fort there is an elongated building which previously functioned as an armory, detention center and offices. Overall, the turtle-like shape of the building is a characteristic feature of forts in Europe.
Fort Marlborough is located on Tapak Padri Beach and backs to the Indian Ocean. It only takes about 30 minutes from Fatmawati Soekarno Airport. Now this fort has become a favorite tourist destination in Bengkulu. To enter this fort you will not spend a lot of money, less than 1 dollar per person.
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| Suban hot water |
7. Suban hot water
Suban Hot Springs is located in Rejang Lebong Regency, which is + 6 km from the capital city of Curup Regency or approximately 90 km from Bengkulu City.
At this location there are hot spring pools. The shape of the pool is simple, but the nature around it is very beautiful compared to the cliffs covered with trees. With this combination, the atmosphere in the suban pool is very natural.
The hot water source in these pools comes from springs which flow through pipes or bamboo so that it forms like a shower. At the Suban Hot Springs there is a quite large swimming pool. This swimming pool is divided into two, for children 70 cm deep and for adults 2 m deep. Tire and life vest rental is also available here. Not far from this large swimming pool, there are 3 small pools containing natural hot water.
At this location there is also a beautiful waterfall with a height of + 90 m with clear and cold water. Apart from that, there are two relics from the Rejang Tribe, namely Megalithic Stones in different locations. The first stone is at the bottom. The megalithic stone at this first location is also often called "Tri Sakti". One hundred meters from the first location, there is also another megalithic stone known as the "crying stone" or "Princess One Step".
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| Lake Dendam Tak Sudah, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
8. Lake Dendam Tak Sudah
Lake Dendam Tak Sudah is a lake located in Bengkulu Province, at a distance of about 7.6 kilometers from Bengkulu City Center, or about 16 minutes from Bengkulu City Center. This lake is located in Dusun Besar Village, Singaran Pati District, Bengkulu City, Bengkulu Province.
Lake Dendam Tak Sudah is a tourist attraction that can be enjoyed with family, friends and fellow nature lovers.
Lake Dendam Tak Sudah This is an area that has had the status of a nature reserve since 1936. This lake has a beautiful atmosphere and is green as far as the eye can see.
The lake area can be a place to relax while enjoying typical Bengkulu culinary delights. Lake Dendam Tak Sudah has an endemic plant in the form of pencil orchids that grow around the edge of the lake.
The pencil orchid, also nicknamed the Queen of Orchids, is now threatened with extinction. The Bengkulu government has designated Lake Dendam Tak Banyak as a conservation area for this flora. Apart from relaxing around the lake, visitors can also trekking in this unspoiled area.
Several fauna can also be found in the area around the lake, such as finches and long-tailed monkeys.
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| Tikus Island, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
9. Tikus Island
Tikus Island is a small island located in the waters of Bengkulu Beach. Tikus Island is part of the Bengkulu City government area, Bengkulu province. This island is to the west of the city of Bengkulu and can be seen from the beaches in Bengkulu City. This island is often visited by tourists and can be reached by renting a fishing boat from Zakat Beach and Tapak Paderi Beach.
located to the west of Bengkulu city center with a distance of 10 kilometers. Initially, this island had an area of 2.5 hectares and has now shrunk due to abrasion until it is only 0.5 hectares. Even though it is small, there are many activities that tourists can do.
The coral reefs, clear sea water and white sand are the three main things that will welcome tourists to this island. To explore further, you can dive and witness the exotic underwater beauty.
In the waters of Tikus Island, there are several types of coral such as poriter, pocillopora, sarcophito, acroporase, fungia, and montipora. These coral reefs are home to small fish of various colors such as clownfish to lobsters, shrimp and crabs.
This island has a variety of plants such as waru, ketapang, nyamplung and coconut trees. There are also several types of birds, namely black storks, sea pigeons, rice cormorants, and thief quacking birds.
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| Enggano Island, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
10. Enggano Island
Enggano Island is in Enggano District and consists of six villages, namely Malakoni, Apoho, Meok, Banjar Sari, Kaana, and Kahyapu. In contrast to Tikus Island, which is small, Enggano Island covers 40,260 hectares with a coastline of 123.23 kilometers.
This island has different beach characteristics, including muddy sand, sand, coral sand, muddy coral sand, and rocky coral beaches. With this diversity, the beaches on Enggano Island are closely related to the coral reef and mangrove ecosystem.
On Enggano Island there are also various coral reefs that can be enjoyed by diving. For beginners, there is no need to worry because on the eastern coastline the waves are not too big. Apart from seeing fish and coral reefs, divers can also see sunken Portuguese and Dutch warships.
Apart from that, visitors can see the process of fish cultivation in marine waters. Some of the fish that are resources in the waters of Enggano Island include skipjack, tuna, mackerel, tuna, trevally, mackerel, trevally, shrimp, red snapper, stingray, grouper and pomfret. In fact, visitors can also fish by renting a fishing boat.
Tourists can also explore this area further, for example by visiting conservation areas such as Kioyo I and Kioyo II Nature Reserve Forests, Klowel Bay Nature Reserve Forest, Tanjung Laksaha Nature Tourism Forest, Bahuewo Nature Reserve Forest, as well as exploring the mangrove forests on Merbau Island and observing birds in Banjar Sari, Kaana.
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| Curup Head Waterfall, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
11. Curup Head Waterfall
Head Curup Waterfall, which has a height of around 100 meters, is located in Head Curup Village, Padang Ulak Tanding District, Rejang Lebong Regency, Bengkulu. Head Curup Waterfall is quite exotic because there is a cave behind it.
The swift waterfall that overflows from its height and the views are very beautiful to see, makes anyone who comes will be lulled, it will be difficult to leave.
Not to mention the natural atmosphere of the surrounding trees which makes this waterfall truly serene, the dominant nuances of green leaves plus the fresh mountain air. This will hypnotize visitors to linger there.
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| Holy River Beach, Bengkulu, Indonesia |
12. Holy River Beach
Holy River Beach is a tourist attraction located in Pasar Pedati Village, Pondok Kelapa District, Central Bengkulu Regency. whose area stretches for 2 km. This tourist attraction is 15 km from the center of Bengkulu City.
Even though the name contains the word river, this tourist attraction is not a river, but a coastline equipped with a stretch of beach sand. This condition will feel more beautiful when the afternoon approaches when the sun is about to set, which produces a very beautiful color combination to look at.
Apart from the beauty of the sea water, this location also has a small island which can be crossed with a suspension bridge, which is made from ropes and thick wooden planks. Apart from being able to go to a beautiful location, this can also test the adrenaline of people who pass through it.
Those are some of our suggestions for tourist destinations located in Bengkulu province, Indonesia. If you have plans to visit Indonesia, you will see many beautiful places in Indonesia that you will not find in other countries.