Facts
| Elevation: | 1,684 m (5,525 ft) | Prominence: | 1,106 m |
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| Ribu category: |  Kurang Tinggi |
Province: | Jawa Barat (West Java) |
| Google Earth: | kml | Other names: | |
| Rating: |   (2 votes) Add your rating
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Photos
 Tampomas from the starting point (Andy Dean, February 2010)
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 Tampomas – looking back down from the warung (Daniel Quinn, February 2010)
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 Collecting pine sap on Tampomas (Daniel Quinn, February 2010)
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 Tampomas crater (Daniel Quinn, February 2010)
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Bagging It!
Tampomas is located northeast of Sumedang – a town famous for its delicious Tahu (fried tofu) – and is easily accessible by public transport from Bandung. Whilst no giant in terms of elevation, Tampomas is an easy and enjoyable hike – perfect as the first of the season or as a warm-up for something more challenging – and there are pleasant views from the top.
Follow the road from Sumedang towards Cirebon for about 6km, past the village of Cimalaka and to an area known as Desa Cibeureum Kulon. Take a left up a narrow road at a sign with “Lokasi TPA” next to some (currently broken) traffic lights. Follow the bumpy, rocky road to the sand quarry. There will probably be a large number of yellow quarry trucks coming the other way. Head straight up the hillside, ignoring a left turn and then a right turn. After approximately 3km you will reach a small warung (on the left of the road) with a green sign on the side. This is the starting point for the hike – there is enough parking space here for a couple of cars. If the weather is fine you should be able to see the top of Tampomas from here. It takes about two and a half hours to reach the peak and one and a half to descend.
From the warung, walk along the rubble-strewn road round a sharp bend and, after just one minute, take the path on the left heading up through farmland. Five minutes later, take a left on a farm track and into pine woodland. Soon after this you reach a wooden hut. It should have taken you no more than 30 minutes to reach this place. Take a left up a narrow path immediately after the hut. From this point on there are plenty of signs which should hopefully confirm that you are on the right track! The path leads you up through more pine woodland – most trees have small coconut shells attached to their trunks to collect the resin/sap.
The path begins to get steeper and the vegetation becomes more natural forest-like. If you are lucky you might spot a monkey or two and perhaps even a Javan warthog. After another hour you should have reached Pos 4, where the path joins up with another hiking route from Narimbang. This spot seems to be the preferred camping place for hikers wanting to make a weekend out of their gunung bagging. The path gets steeper and rockier from this point on. The next landmark is a hut and minor rockface at Sangyheang Lawang. The summit area of Tampomas, known as Sangyheang Taraje, is less than 30 minutes further. Just before the peak there is a sign for Tampomas crater, a deep dark crevice to the right of the trail.
The views from the boulder-studded peak are very pleasant – westwards to Bukittunggul and surrounding hills and south towards the many peaks near Garut. There is enough space for a couple of tents here. Approximately 100 metres to the north of the highest point are two ancient grave areas, known as Pasarean, which are certainly worth a visit. These are apparently tombs from the ancient Sundanese kingdom of Pajajaran.
Returning to the warung the same way takes about an hour and a half.
Bagging information provided by Daniel Quinn.
Practicalities
| Getting there | |
|---|---|
| Accommodation | There is some basic accommodation in Sumedang. |
| Permits | None required but take a photocopy of your passport photo page just incase. |
| Water sources | Unknown – take sufficient supplies with you. |
Location
Origins and Meaning
(unclear) There could be two possibilities. (i) In Old Javanese the word tampo means “rain, mist” so tampo mas might mean “golden rain”. “Golden rain” (usually udan mas or hujan emas) is a popular poetic term that might respectfully or affectionately be applied to a mountain. (ii) In Sundanese tampeu means “overlooking something” so tampo mas might mean something like “the golden mountain that looms over us”. (George Quinn, 2011)
About how long does this hike take?
How far (walking) from Desa Cibeureum Kulon to the warung with the green sign?
Hi Jon
I’d allow just over 4 hours to the summit and back, but an extra 45min each way from the main road.
Well thanks for all the info on Tampomas on the GB website. A friend and I climbed it last weekend. A good time had by all, was steeper than I thought for the last two hours or so. Once we got to the top there were probably 20 people already up there. One large group was from a hiking club in a nearby town. Nice folks.