As we were looking for places to visit while in Puncak, a name kept coming up, the place claimed to be one of the largest botanical gardens in Indonesia, and it was. Taman Bunga Nusantara is located about 90 kilometers from Jakarta. It is very close to Puncak but it can still take you about an hour to get there since the dirt roads, or the huge potholes that are where the road is supposed to be and the one-way streets make it for a hard ride.

Once you arrive to TBN, you forget all about the bumpy ride and start enjoying the views and surprising cleanliness that is evident even from the parking lot. The 20,000 rupiah ticket includes the entrance fee and for an extra 5,000 rupiah you can get at ticket for a tram that takes you around the whole park.

The park is very large and it is beautifully adorned with a wonderful display of the colors and shapes of flowers from all over.They have different “themed” gardens including the French, American, Japanese, Balinese and Mediterranean Gardens. There are two mazes and an observation tower as well as a glass green house.

 

Of course, we spent most of our day at the leisure park where they had several rides including a train that Evan rode on 4 times, go-karts, an indoor play area and a mini-excavator for kids to play with. All of the rides cost extra, but they range from 5,000 to 15,000 rupiahs for a ticket to ride so it’s not bad at all. I tried to ride on a ball floating on water and as you will see from the pictures, I failed. Every time I tried to stand up Evan would freak out and grab my legs and down we would go again. I tried to motivate him to crawl with me to make the ball move, and he just wouldn’t. We had a blast, nonetheless!

 

I attempted to take pictures of the boys at the Palm Garden but wasn’t very successful. I was able to capture a few shots before Evan decided Josh was too heavy to hold.

TBG is a beautiful place that will enchant you with its vast array of plants and flowers and the fantastic way the gardens and displays are set up. I would dare to compare it to the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands if you consider its size, quality of exhibitions (not facilities) and variety of species.

Tips

-If you decide to visit TBN and you feel like it’s taking a long time to get there because of the animals crossing the roads and the cars parked on both sides of the streets leaving only a tiny piece of road for two-way traffic, just breathe and keep going! It’s worth it! Enjoy looking at the vast plantations. If you are lucky you might see rice being harvested.

-Like many other parks we’ve visited in Indonesia, the toilets are not exactly what we were used to. Although there are toilet facilities everywhere, they only have a few non-squatting toilets and toilet paper is not available in all of the stalls.

-Forget about diaper-changing stations. Just find a nice spot in the grass put your changing pad down and do your business. There are plenty of trash cans and sinks to wash your hands all around.

-It’s a great thing that they have picnic areas. Next time, I will make sure I pack my lunch since the food was not very good, at least at the little restaurant where we stopped to eat it wasn’t.

-The 5,000 rupiah fee for the trolley ride is totally worth it, especially if you are carrying kids with you. This way you can go all the way to the end of the park and walk back to the entrance without seeing everything twice and avoiding a long walk.

-Enjoy the neatness and appreciate how this is one of the few places in Indonesia where you don’t see trash everywhere! This made me so happy!

 

Taman Bunga Nusantara

Jl. Mariwati KM. 7 Desa Kawungluwuk

Kecamatan Sukaresmi Kabupaten Cianjur

Jawa Barat – Indonesia

 

Directions:

Turn left on Ciloto Bridge if you are coming from Jakarta. Drive past Green Apple Garden Residences and continue driving straight. The road will eventually lead you to it.