Monday, 01 April 2017- My sisters and I went to Coban Rais to spend our holiday. We chose that place because Coban Rais is the most famous tourism place in Batu nowadays. Coban Rais itself is a waterfall completed with other spots. Coban Rais is located in Batu (same with other, this coban is located in a mountain which is Panderman mountain). The height of the mountain is 1025 mdpl, the height of the waterfall is around 20 meters with steepness 900. To reach the place, we drove a motorcycle. The street is wide and flawless.
Coban Rais has existed in the past, but the name is not Coban Rais instead of Coban Sabrangan. The name was Coban Sabrangan because we need to cross many rivers to reach the waterfall. The name turns as Coban Rais because it appears as a new tourism place in Batu. That is why when I went there; I still saw some of the places are in preparation.
When we entered the area, we have to pay Rp10.000,00,- for the enter ticket and Rp3.000,00,- for the parking area. In the right side, we can see many coffee shops and the left side we can see the parking area, outbound area, and archery area. After we parked our motorcycle, we were walking around 1 up to 3 km for reaching the spots (especially in the Bukit Bulu, starts from the stage of I LOVE U, Swing, Bukit Flower, Hammock, Gardu Pandang, Sepeda Gantung, etc) and 5 up to 8 km (can be more) for reaching the waterfall. I think, what makes the Coban Rais famous is the spots (I have mentioned it before). We were going to try every place but we need to pay for it again, so we decided to not try them and went to the waterfall (only the waterfall is free).
When my sisters and I went there, I found some weaknesses that they have to pay attention. First is the trash, I found a lot of trash around the place and I think it is not healthy and comfortable for the visitor. It simply will be just impacted to the number of the visitor. Second is the street. What I mean here is not the access to go there but the street from the parking area to the spots (the street is small and you can imagine how if you walk in a small street with a lot of people and the taxi bike runs the street). Also, the street to the Coban Rais itself (the street is smaller with ravine and gutter beside). The third is the gutter. I think the gutter is small (so, it cannot accommodate the water anymore) and I found some parts of the gutter has broken that makes the water come out and blends with the soil (it makes the street slippery). The fourth is their service. I found many long lines of people for taking a picture and for taking the result of their pictures (it takes a lot of time and they have to pay for the picture again). The picture is only taken by the photographer and they have to take the result in one place (you can imagine the photos from many spots are transferred to one place).
About the visitor, I think the interested person is much, especially for young generations (age: 17 up to 25). The place is never quiet, always crowded.
If you have a plan to go to Coban Rais, there are some advice from me that I would like to tell you. First is money, how much you need is at least Rp50.000,00,- up to Rp120.000,00,- per person (for all spots). Second is appearance. If you plan to go to the waterfall too, please do not ever wear a dress, skirt with high heels. There, I found a lot of women do the kind of appearance. I think that will be dangerous for them because the soil is muddy and they need to cross many rivers. The third is what you bring. Please do not ever bring a lot of stuff but bring the necessary one (it will be better if you use a backpack) it helps you to enjoy your journey instead of you are busy with your stuff.
If we compare Coban Rais with other like Coban Rondo, I think the development of Coban Rondo is better than Coban Rais, the street is easier than Coban Rais because it can be reached by transportation (motorcycle, car and even bus). Also, Coban Rondo was flooding and the company (PT) did reparation directly. However, the spots of Coban Rais are more interesting as well.
So, the conclusion is Coban Rais is one of the good tourism places in Batu. It is appropriate for people who are looking for a new place for a holiday. The spot is very interesting and unique, not surprised why the Coban Rais has many visitors every day. For you guys that have not been in Coban Rais yet, this is the recommended one for you to visit.
References:
https://sites.google.com/site/wisataairterjun/jawa-timur/coban-rais---oro-oro---malang