Indonesia

Guide to Glamping in Legok Kondang

May 14, 2016

Recently, I did Glamping in Glamping Legok Kondang Lodge, just outskirt of Bandung, West Java. Glamping is shortened from Glamour Camping where it is more glamorous & a bit more luxurious than normal camping. I stayed only for two days, one night which is during the weekend. Legok Kondang was a perfect getaway to travel from the busy Jakarta. For me, a weekend to do glamping is just enough period of time to feel revived. Not too long or too short. It is an absolute nature haven for travelers.

How to Get to Legok Kondang?

I live in Jakarta and I traveled to Legok Kondang with my family. Using our own vehicle was the most convenient way to get there. Legok Kondang is located in a region called Ciwidey, outskirt of Bandung. My family and I used mostly highways from Jakarta to Legok Kondang Lodge. I departed from my house at 5 am and arrived in Legok Kondang at 8:30-ish. The duration with normal highway car speed (around 80-120 Km) was 3,5 hours with a direction going to Bandung, through Cikampek, Purwokerto Highway. Put in mind that Jakarta-Bandung traffic can get really bad on certain time or peak hour. I was using Google Map because it was the most reliable app at the time.I would suggest to ask the Legok Kondang Management Team if you want to go there by public transportation because they will know better about their region for sure.

After you arrive in Legok Kondang accordingly to Google Map, you are not arrived yet. This is because Legok Kondang usually suggest you to park your car in the provided parking lot and then they will use their own transportation to the Legok Kondang location. The reason to this is because the road from the parking lot to Legok Kondang is seriously uphill and narrow so it could be dangerous.

What are the facilities in Legok Kondang?

Legok Kondang have in total of 24 tents. Based on Legok Kondang official website, there are several type of tents and each tent have it own package. There are Standard, Deluxe, Luxury, Luxury Sunrise, and Family tent. Each type of tent has their own capacity of people to be accomodate. All of the tent has included breakfast, free self-service 24Hr coffee and tea. The tents also differs by the view from the tents. Such as Luxury Sunrise tents will obviously get the sunrise view. I booked the Family Tent while I was staying in Legok Kondang and I got the garden view which was very amazing.

One crucial thing for me every time I travel is the bathroom. It has to be pristine. Or at least decent to be use. Legok Kondang didn’t disappoint me or my family because the bathroom had this nature feature yet still appropriate to be use. Water heater is also available in Legok Kondang, thankfully. Since Bandung region is very famous for their cold weather and freezing cold water.

The beds in my tent was just mattresses. I wasn’t expecting like a bed in a hotel because it’s still camping anyway. If it too glamorous it will be just like a resort. The wool blanket they provide is very suitable and comfortable for those kind of chilly weather. There’s TV in each tents, but why would you watch TV where you can do it at home when you can watch the nature (and you paid for it) am I right? One thing that I particularly love about Legok Kondang Lodge is that each tent has a balcony and like I said before, mine happened to have a stunning view of the garden plantation.

Go to Legok Kondang front office if you have any inquiries while you are staying in there because they are surely ready to help. Oh, and one thing I experienced in there is that each tent will have a contact person that will be in charge of your necessity. Such as if you want to do any activity provided from Legok Kondang, you will have to inform your assigned contact person about the availability. Sometimes weather can be make an activity unavailable for certain time or if you want to do BBQ, you have to tell them in advance for them to do preparation for the bonfire and the food. Since your breakfast is included already, it will be on the dining hall that made from bamboo.

What Can You Do in Legok Kondang?

Once I arrived in Legok Kondang it was 8:30 am and too early to do check-in. The check-in time is 2 pm. My family and I decided to go to Saung Gawir restaurant, about 5 minutes from Legok Kondang location. After having delicious Sundanese breakfast in Saung Gawir, it was still too early for check-in. So we finally decided to go to Kawah Putih or in English, White Crater. As I want this post to be more about Legok Kondang, read about Kawah Putih here.

Again, it was around 12:30 pm and still early to do check-in. But seeing that the tent was ready to be use, they let us to checked-in. Throughout the rest of the day, my family was taking a long nap. The chilly weather was just perfect for nap time and listening to those cricket and other nature sound was like a lullaby. Reading a book, doing yoga or any other relaxation activity will be very suitable for these kind of back to nature situation.

What I did is I explored Legok Kondang. Legok Kondang site is very big and surrounded by nature. I was busy photographing so I will not forget this incredible place.

Legok Kondang Lodge offer various activities you can do during you stay, but probably depending on situations as well. These activities will have extra charges. I personally think the prices of offered activities are quite relevant and acceptable. The activities are BBQ, strawberry picking/harvesting, floating lantern, paintball, trip to Kawah Putih (transport), trekking, fish catching, rafting. You can get all the detailed information in their website or try to contact them by email or phone.

And then things got a bit disappointing because Legok Kondang was fully occupied at that time. I told my contact person that I wanted to do my BBQ at 6:30 pm but it was ready almost around 8 pm. I was also let down by the fact that they only want to do bonfire to a group of ten or more. They didn’t inform me this in the afternoon and they know that we are a group of six people. They told me that I have to share with my neighbor’s tent and that is very uncomfortable! Do you want to spend your holiday with a family of strangers? Not me.

Another weird part is that is not actually BBQ because the Legok Kondang employees are the one who cook it for you. So it’s honestly just like ordering sirloin steak and roasted corn for dinner. It was upsetting. I tried to make s’mores but of course not that delightful when you have to walk back and forth to another family’s bonfire. Legok Kondang didn’t provide the ingredient to make s’mores, I brought it from home.

When me and my family were done with eating, I ordered some lantern to be flown. To be fair, it lightened me up after the uneventful BBQ earlier. I didn’t realize the process of floating a lantern is actually pretty hard. You have to be patience to let the air in so they can properly float. It felt magical for about 4 seconds.

Stargazing was one thing that I really, really want to do but I didn’t see any stars at night. I saw a review through Google and they were lucky enough to see Milky Way! However, I woke up early morning at 4 am and due to the fact that I never photograph night star before, it was an ugly result.

The morning sky though!!! The most beautiful pastel coloured sky and sunrise scenery. Nature at it’s best.

After I checked-out and before I go back to Jakarta, I went to Situ Patenggang (Patenggang Lake). To be honest, I was more stunned seeing the valley of tea plantation than the lake. Although both are awesome sceneries for sightseeing.

Legok Kondang location is relatively close to reach the famous site like Kawah Putih (white crater) and Situ Patenggang Lake. Those are the most visited nearby attractions in Ciwidey region. See more in Kawah Putih & Situ Patenggang Lake.

How much to spend in Legok Kondang?

The price of each type of tents are varied. Mine happened to be a family tent that can accommodate up to 8 persons. The price of the family tent when I booked it was IDR 2’440’000++. For weekends and public holidays, the will charge you around additional 10%. You will be required to do 50% deposit to reserve the tent.

Like I said earlier in this post, there will be additional charges for the activities provided by Legok Kondang Lodge. You can check it for more detail information in their website

Tips from Michelle Franc-Lee

Summer season would be much better and will open more availability of the activities
If possible, booked as a group of ten or more so you can do the bonfire
Bring s’mores ingredient: marshmallow, biscuit, chocolate
There was no bugs during my stay, but you never know when they will appear
Wait for the Strawberry harvest season so you can harvest it as well
Bring snacks!
Legok Kondang Lodge provides a lot of bottled water, but bring several during for the ride
Bring shoes and sandals
Bring raincoat and umbrella during rainy season
Check the daily weather forecast, trust me it’s very helpful
Ask the Legok Kondang management team if you have any further question