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Located in West Java at , 30 km from Bandung and 9 km from Lembang the Tangkuban Prahu volcano is still active but very quiet and no major eruption took place recently.
" Prahu" means boat and "tangkuban" means upside down.
It is supposed that few thousands years ago (between 2000 and 6000 years) multiple eruptions took place in Tangkuban Perahu.
Lava, mud, ash and rock generated by the volcano blocked the Padalarang valley. first Bandung basin began to fill and became a lake of 700 km2. Then the newly fertile Bandung plain did not appear immediately as it took time to dry through the new course of the Citarum river.
About 150 yeras ago the lake was still quite large, and wild animals including benteng, rhinos, and tigers were abundant and even now the southern part of the plain is prone to flooding.
It has beeen suggested that the cataclysmic eruption of the Tangkuban Prahu that spread thick layers of white ash over a wide area may have been the origin of the name Sunda for the local people and region. Sunda is related to the Sanskrit "cuddha" which means "pure" or "white", and the only place in Java given the name of Sunda is just north of Bandung.
The legend about the volcano tells the story of a prince who loves a queen who didn't return his feelings. But after a while she agreed to marry him on the following condition.
The prince would have to build a dam and a huge boat in one night. The prince worked very hard, and as the night wore on, it looked like he would actually accomplish his task! Seeing this, the queen convinced the gods to make the sun rise early. Hearing the cocks crow as the sun rose, the angry prince turned his almost-completed boat over. Tangkuban Prahu is the boat.
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11-fév-06