Captivating highlands, gorgeous natural scenery, cool air and a majestic temple make the Dieng Plateau a popular tourist destination for both local and overseas visitors.

Sadly, one of Central Java'€™s main tourist destinations is cluttered with rubbish, spoiling the landscape with an all-pervading stink.

Visitors, such as the band Slank, have complained, often on social media, about the trash littering the tourist zone located in Banjarnegara regency. The band'€™s drummer, Bimbim, said they wanted to see Dieng clean, and if possible, a sign put up declaring: '€œWelcome to Trash-Free Dieng Plateau'€.

Foreign tourists too have raised similar concerns. The Arjuna Temple area, as the focus of tourist interest in the area, seems to be appealing only between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., when it is shrouded in thick mist, with just the upper structure appearing amid the foothills of Mount Sindoro, obscuring the scattered rubbish.

The fascinating sight created by the archeological antiquity and natural splendor fades away as soon as the mist vanishes with the soaring sun. The temple compound, comprising five seventh century buildings, again reveals its heaps of garbage.

The former volcanic caldera has now apparently become a dumping zone, which makes the Arjuna Temple grounds in the middle of the highlands appear so much less magnificent than it once was. Apart from the garbage and smell, farmland is encroaching on the plateau'€™s protected forest along with disorderly settlements.

Within a radius of less than 100 meters of the temple, cattle dung, household waste and farm refuse mess up the area, with resultant vermin.

A similar sight can also be seen along the way to other Dieng tourist spots like Telaga Warna Lake, Sikidang Crater and Bima Temple, leaving a grim impression for those visiting Java'€™s largest potato-producing region.

Located at an altitude of 2,000 meters, this plateau would actually feature a marvelous panorama if it was properly maintained by all relevant parties '€” visitors, tourism management and the local community.

The lack of awareness among tourists and locals, who discard trash at will, makes the area unhealthy and unattractive.

The choice of the exotic Dieng Plateau by our ancestors to build temples for prayers in this special place was not without reason. The word Dieng is old Javanese, which originates in Di meaning a place or mountain and Hyang meaning gods '€” hence the Abode of the Gods.

Sadly the scene today does not reflect the place as an abode of gods among the clouds.

'€” Photos by Tarko Sudiarno 

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