01Tourism
Teijsmann Garden in the Bogor Botanical Garden At a national tourism exhibition of 2010 in Jakarta, Bogor was recognized as the most attractive tourist city in Indonesia. The city and its surrounding area are visited by about 1.8 million people per year, of whom more than 60,000 are foreigners.
The main tourist attraction is the Bogor Botanical Garden. Founded in 1817, it contains more than 6,000 species of tropical plants. Besides, about 42 bird species breed within the garden, although this number is declining and was 62 before 1952. The garden's 87-hectare area within the city was supplemented in 1866 by a 120-hectare park in suburban town of Cibodas. Much of the original rainforest was preserved within the garden providing specimens for scientific studies. The garden was also enriched by collections of palms, bamboos, cacti, orchids and ornamental trees. It became famous in the late 19th century and was visited by naturalists from abroad to conduct scientific research. For example, the Russian St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences had a Buitenzorg scholarship for young scientists to work at Bogor.
On the grounds of the botanic garden, there is a cemetery established in 1784. It contains 42 historical graves of the Dutch colonial officials, military officers, and scientists, who served in Bogor, Jakarta, and other cities in West Java from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Nearby, there are three graves from the early Sunda Kingdom (15th century): the wife of the founder of Bogor Siliwangi, Galuh Mangku Alam, vizier Ba'ul, and commander Japra. The locals regard these individuals as the city's patrons. The staff of Bogor garden also administer three other major gardens of Indonesia: the Cibodas Botanical Garden founded 1862 in West Java, the Purwodadi Botanical Garden in East Java and the Bali Botanic Garden founded in 1959 on Bali island.
The former residence of the Governor-General, now the summer palace of the President of Indonesia Another tourist attraction is the presidential palace with the total area of 28 hectares, including 1.8492 hectares of the palace buildings. The palace is surrounded by a park with a small pond. The park is home to a herd of tame deer and is open to the public most of the year. The palace is accessible during holidays, such as the City Day and Independence Day; it has a collection of 450 paintings and 360 sculptures.
Bogor was the capital of the Sundanese kingdom in the Middle Ages. Sundanese culture dominates as in other areas of West Java. The city and its suburbs contain dozens of medieval stone stelae (prasasti). Fifteen inscriptions of the greatest historical and cultural value are collected in a special museum, one of which is the Batutulis inscription. In the southern part of Bogor city there is the tomb of Raden Saleh, a famous 19th-century Dutch East Indies painter and in the western part of Bogor city there is a large lake Gede (area 6 hectares) surrounded by protected forest areas and forest parks. In the protected area there are several research facilities, and recreational areas host sports, boating, and fishing activities.
Bogor is one of the leading cities of Indonesia by the number of museums, some of which are among the oldest and largest in the country. The Zoological Museum which was opened in 1894 by the Dutch colonial administration as an adjunct to the Botanic Gardens and contains thousands of exhibits. Other prominent museums are more recent. The museum of ethnobotany was opened in 1982 and has more than 2000 exhibits; the museum of the earth (1988) displays hundreds of soil and rock samples from different parts of Indonesia; the museum of the struggle (1957) is devoted to the history of the Indonesian national liberation movement; and Pembela Tanah Air Museum (1996) reflects the history of the Indonesian military militia PETA (Pembela Tanah Air – "Defenders of the Motherland") created during World War II by the Japanese occupation administration.
Other historical places are Bogor Cathedral – built in 1750, it is one of the oldest operational Catholic churches in Indonesia, and the Buddhist temple Hok Tek Bio, built in 1672 in the classical southern Chinese style. It is the first Buddhist temple in Bogor and one of the oldest in Indonesia. The Jaksa Waterfall is located near the city. It is located within a picturesque lowland rainforest setting.
The city has a drama theater, dozens of movie theaters, nine of which (as of mid-2010) are built to international standards. The presidential palace, administrative buildings, and universities regularly host art exhibitions, and there are regular festivals of folk art, conferences, and culture-related seminars, such as the Congress of Indonesian culture of 2008. Besides all the tourist attractions above, Bogor also offers a variety of shopping malls or stores including Botani Square, Bogor Trade Mall, Lippo Plaza, Plaza Indah Bogor, etc.
Bogor launched a bus service that can go around the city of Bogor called which starts their tour at Bogor Botanical Gardens. The bus route will start from Alun-alun Botani and end at the same place. This service was inaugurated by Bogor Mayor Bima Arya on 1 January 2017. This bus is called UNCAL, which means "Unforgettable City Tour in a Fun City".