TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - From a far, the waterfall looked like a silky whitish curtain. The water flows through the stone staircases. Through the heavy discharge of water, one could witness the grandiose of the stream that penetrated between the rocks that reaches up to 50 meter high and 70 meter wide. As one approaches, the cool mist would freshen up.

That was the charm of Malela Waterfall at Cicadas Village, Rongga Sub-District, Bandung Regency that mostly known as the "Miniature of Niagara” from West Java.

"It really look like the miniature of Niagara. The water fall is the largest among other waterfalls in West Java," said Ridho, a tourist from Garut. Ridho admitted his awe upon the sight of Malela Waterfall and the freshness of the surrounding.

To reach Malela Waterfall, it took us three hours by land from Bandung downtown or approximately 62 kilometers far. Along the way we were satisfied by green landscapes and cool air. One of the panoramas was the tea plantation that belongs to PTPN VIII Montaya.

Unfortunately, the access road to the waterfall was not easy. About 2.5 kilometer of the road was muddy and rocky. It got slippery during the rain and even harder for any vehicles to pass. The road was narrow, only about 4 meter, so travelers had to take turn whenever there were 2 cars passing from the opposite way.

Travelers had no choice but to continue the trip on foot, descended the stony staircases towards the waterfall for about one kilometer. Some staircases were damaged because of the reckless motorcyclist that passed by.

As soon as you arrive there after strolling through the green views along the road, you will be tempted to feel the cool waterfall to get rid of your weariness.

Malela waterfall is one of the seven waterfalls originated from Cidadap River that flows from Ciwidey. The other six waterfalls are Katumiri, Manglid, Sumpel, Ngebul, Palisir, and Pameumpeuk. The Cidadap River flows through Cirata and Jangari.

One of the Waterfall management staff, Aep Aljaludin, said that there has yet any road improvement done by the local government, even though local and national visitors continue to flock the spot on weekends.

"If there is better road, it would be a benefit to the visitors. And the local economy would also increase," he said further to Tempo.

RISANTI | DICKY ZULFIKAR NAWAZAKI | ENI S