The Domas Crater Boling Springs

A favorite spot of volcanic activity to visit is the Domas Crater, located about a kilometer down the northeastern slope. A wide, well-marked stairway leads down from the car park at Kawah Ratu. The walk takes about thirty minutes.

For the elderly or very young this stairway might be somewhat tiring, but there is an alternative route. You can go by car down to the large car park, halfway between the top car park and the entrance gate. It’s impossible to miss. From there, you walk far less steeply on a clearly-marked trail about twenty minutes through lovely mountain forest and past a clear creek with a resting place beside it. The use of mosquito repellent is not a bad idea here.

The smell o sulphur tells you that you are approaching an active crater. Bubbling mud, boiling hot water, and hissing sulphur vapor are the hallmarks of the Domas Crater. Eggs are sold here so that you can put them into the boiling water until they are cooked. A stall selling snacks and drinks is also here. This is the most easily accessible of all the really active craters in the vicinity of Bandung, and walking around in it is an experience no visitor should miss.

From the Domas Crater you can walk either to the top car park on the crater rim of Kawah Ratu or more or less level to the road. The latter path forks again to the right leads slightly uphill to the large car park at Jayagiri, while to the left leads to a small lay-by farther down the road.