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ature lovers have voiced their objection to the Mojokerto regency administration'€™s plan to build a tourist route in the Mount Penanggungan area, as the East Java administration has designated it as a cultural heritage site.

Coordinator of the Save Pawitra Nature Lover drive to save the Penanggungan site, Yahya Setianto, said his group had collected around 2,000 signatures from the community and nature lovers who are against the planned tourist route in the Mt. Penanggungan area.

'€œWe oppose the plan by the Mojokerto regency administration to build a road in the area in Tamiajeng village, Trawas district, Mojokerto. We believe the construction of the concrete road would threaten the existence of cultural heritage sites in Penanggungan,'€ Yahya said on Thursday.

Mt. Penanggungan, standing 1,653 meters above sea level, is an inactive volcano located on the border between Mojokerto and Pasuruan regencies in East Java, around 25 kilometers from Surabaya.

Based on data from the East Java Tourism Office, 116 temples or historical sites are located in the area around Mt. Penanggungan, from the foot of the mountain until close to its peak, such as the Jedong Gateway (926 BC), Jalatunda Bath (10th century), Belahan Bath, as well as the Kendalisodo and Merak temples.

East Java Cultural and Tourism Office head Jarianto said Mt. Penanggungan had been designated a cultural heritage site by East Java Governor Soekarwo through Gubernatorial Decree No. 188, dated Jan. 14, 2015.

'€œGiven the decree, every development in the area, part of the Majapahit Kingdom palace compound, must get approval from the Forestry Ministry and East Java governor,'€ Jarianto told the media in Surabaya.

He added that the gubernatorial decree consisted of eight points of prohibition pertaining to the heritage site, including on damaging or stealing, as well as documenting in part or as a whole for commercial reasons without approval from the owner or administrator.

Early this year, the Mojokerto administration built a concrete road in Tamiajeng village, up to the hiking location. Around Rp 7 billion (US$580,000) was also earmarked to build a concrete stairway up to around 1,400 meters above sea level, precisely on the Bayangan Peak.

Mojokerto regency chief spokesman Budi Sulistyo said his office would immediately coordinate with stakeholders regarding the planned construction of the tourist route.

He added the regency administration had no intention to damage the area, but develop it.

'€œThe hiking path will remain. We purposely built the path to fulfill the request of members of the community who wish to reach the peak, but do not have the strength to scale the mountain,'€ said Budi.

Mojokerto Regent Mustofa Kamal Pasa denied that the tourist road project to Mt. Penanggungan and the hiking path up the mountain would threaten the ecosystem and damage sites remaining from the Majapahit Kingdom.

'€œThe project will not harm the sites. We will choose locations away from the sites,'€ said Mustofa.

Besides local visitors and hikers, the Mt. Penanggungan hiking area is also visited by many foreign tourists, especially from France and Japan.