The Gunung Padang site is on the
border of Gunung Padang and Panggulan hamlets, Karyamukti Village, Campaka
subdistrict, Cianjur Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia. The location can
be reached 20 kilometers from the intersection of Warungkondang sub-district
town.
The area of the main complex is
approximately 900 m², located at an altitude of 885 m above sea level, and the
site area is around 3 Ha. The function of the Gunung Padang site is thought to
be a place of worship for the people who lived there around 2000 years BC.
Mount Padang was discovered by N.
J. Krom. He discovered this site in 1914 and reported it in the Rapporten
Oudheidkundige Dienst. Gunung Padang is recorded as the largest terraced punden
complex in Southeast Asia.
There are five terraces on this
site which have different sizes and the rocks come from andesite, about one
meter long and shaped like pillars. Each terrace on Gunung Padang has a
function. One of them is the first terrace which is recorded as the widest
part. The first terrace is composed of rocks with the largest number of rocks,
but the number decreases towards the top.
The results of the research
indicate the possibility of musical involvement from several of the existing
megalith stones and their existence makes it the largest stepped punden complex
in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, National Geographic reported that claim
Gunung Padang is the oldest
pyramid structure in the world, starting from the presentation of researchers
from Indonesia at the American Geophysical Union in 2018. This claim was based
on Mount Padang being different from ordinary hills after researchers had
conducted research for years. The reason is, this site has a series of ancient
structures whose foundations are around 10 thousand years old and could even be
older. Researchers also explained that the first layer of Mount Padang is
around 3,500 years old based on radicocarbon dating. Meanwhile, the second
layer of this site is around 8,000 years old and the current layer is around
9,500-28,000 years old.
We can reach Mount Padang starting
from Warungkondang Village. From this village we turn right, then go to
Cipadang-Cibokor-Lampegan-Pal Dua-Ciwangin-Cimanggu and end up in Gunung Padang
Hamlet.
Arriving at Mount Padang, we will
find a gate or gate to the Mount Padang tourist site. If it's a normal day,
private vehicles can go straight in on a fairly uphill road to arrive at the
foot of the hill. However, if it is a national holiday or weekend, private
vehicles usually have to be parked at this gate. And we have to continue our journey
to the foot of the hill, either on foot or using motorbike taxi services. To
make things easier, this location has been marked on Google Maps
