One area is Merak temple in Karangnongko village, which is located just a few kilometers from Duwet.
The Hindu temple is currently under renovation, but that should not deter us from enjoying its beauty. It consists of three chapels with a main temple bearing a Ganesha statue in the middle.

Discovered in 1925, the temple is believed to have been built in the ninth or 10th century during period of the Medang Mataram Hindu kingdom.

This temple is obviously off the tourist radar as not many people outside the village know the location. Don’t expect a clear sign that can guide you to the temple site, which is located in the middle of a residential area.

“There are only a few foreign tourists who manage to come here,” Slamet, a guard who retired last year after 23 years, said.

Karangnongko is also popular for delicious and sweet rambutan fruits. Residents usually have the plant in their front or back yard. Another attraction is two swimming pools in Pluneng village, some kilometers from Duwet village. The pools offer pure fresh water that can be seen in the form of bubbles coming out from pebbles lying on the pools’ floor.

The first swimming pool is locally called umbul wedok (women’s pool) while the other is called umbul lanang (men’s pool). The names have nothing to do with gender restrictions, but rather differentiate the depth of the pools.

As you may guess, the women’s pool, which consists of two small pools, is much shallower. The two small pools are in a public space and function as a place to shower and wash clothes.

Almost all small children in the village can swim. The use of swimming suits, however, is still rare as many of the villagers cannot afford them.  

“My father, Suyatmin, built this pool in 1957, intending to make a pool to shower buffaloes,” Kuncoro, who lives next to the women’s pool, said.

Unlike the women’s pool, the men’s pool is protected by high walls. Its front yard is residential houses, while the backyard is beautified by a view of green paddy fields.

There is no need to drain the two swimming pools every week like people do in commercial swimming pools in the city. The water is directly flows into the rivers every second, giving you the best and freshest one.  

— JP/Indah Setiawati


How to reach  Duwet village:

• Take a flight to Yogyakarta’s Adisutjipto International Airport.
• At the airport, rent a car and a local driver to go to Duwet village in Klaten.
• For backpackers, take a bus to Surakarta and jump off at the sugar factory in Gondang, Klaten. Then, take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) around the sugar factory.

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