Pangandaran Beach is an idyllically exotic beach located on the southern coast of Java and is one of Java's best  best-kept secrets as far as international tourists are concerned, but has been extremely popular with locals for a long, long time. It is considered to be one of Java's finest beaches. The excellent surfing opportunities offered by this sun kissed beach has made it a favorite holiday spot for surfers from around the globe as well as local tourists. Pangandaran Beach is actually named after a small fishing village of the same name. Pangandaran is halfway between Bandung and Yogya, about 5 hours by bus from Bandung and 8 hours from Jakarta.With the velvet blue waters of the Indian Ocean lapping up to the village from all sides, this is a perfect coastal getaway for everyone. The only advice is that for those who love swimming, great care should be taken especially at the East-Beach where the undercurrent can be very strong.

Apart from housing one of the finest beach of Indonesia, Pangandaran is of special interest to nature lovers, as it is the home to the Pangandaran National Park, housing hundreds of "Long-tail Macaque", Wild buffalo, Barking Deer and a few other species of animals. Nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts will love the countryside tours to see the local people going about their daily activities, the cottage industries and then wrapping up the trip with the final visit to the famous 'Green Canyon'.

Pangandaran Beach is a unique travel destination in Indonesia. It is here that you can enjoy a "only one of its kind" experience of seeing the golden sun set at the West-Beach and the silver moon, rise over the ocean simultaneously at Full Moon at the East-beach. The next morning you can again see the sun rise at the Eastern side. Is your heart already beating faster with the thought of such a seductive setting?

Though the surf of Pangandaran Beach is rough and sometimes dangerous the western side is safe (sheltered by coral reefs) and clean. There's no no seaweed, coral, of jellyfishes, but still always take care!

The people in Pangandaran are very friendly and you will feel very sorry to be leaving.

KAMPUNG NAGA (DRAGON VILLAGE ) TASIKMALAYA   On the way from Bandung to Pangandaran you may wish to make a stop and visit the traditional village of Kampung Naga. The Indonesian word naga refers to dragons. Ancient, mythological, serpent-like creatures that lives in the myths and folk lore of so many cultures. But there are no dragons in Kampung Naga. Yet, be there dragons or not, life in this mistakenly-translated "Dragon Village" is no less ancient nor mythical than that creature itself. It is a realm, disconnected from the age we live in and hardly tethered by threads of the 21st century. It is a place where lives and life itself is set in another dimension.                  The origin of the name turns out to be more down-to-earth rather than anything else: it is cleverly abbreviated from the Sundanese dialect phrase, dina gawir, which means "beneath the hills," or more simply, a valley. This valley, where the indigenous tribe dwelt is encircled by steep cliffs. Diverse vegetation blankets these massive rocks, and here and there a small waterfall tumbles from a great height. The Ciwulan River, with its gentle current, meanders through this valley and its sienna-colored water nurtures every living thing constantly.