Gua Sembat, Cave with a Human Face

Apa yang anda bayangkan kalau mendengar Derawan? Pastinya tidak jauh dari pantai dan laut, dengan pasir putih dan air yang biru. Saya pun hanya membayangkan seputar laut sebelum tiba di Pulau Maratua, Kepulauan Derawan, Kalimantan Timur. Namun rupanya disini ada gua yang sangat menarik, dengan bentuk manusia dan dapat diselami pula.

What do you imagine when you hear Derawan Islands? Perhaps not far from the beach and the sea, white sands and blue water. I also imagined only about the sea before arriving in Maratua, Derawan Islands, East Borneo. But apparently there is a cave there which is very interesting, with the human form and you can dive as well!

Untuk mencapai Gua Sembat juga tidak perlu upaya keras, hanya perlu berkendara dengan motor sekitar 15 menit dari Desa Payung Payung di Maratua menuju Desa Bohe Silian. Opsi lain langsung merapat ke Desa Bohe Silian yang juga ada di Pulau Maratua.

To get to Sembat Cave from a few dock in Maratua is also quite easy. You just have to drive with motorcycle about 15 minutes from the Payung Payung Village in Maratua to Bohe Silian Village. Or, just docked directly to Bohe Silian in Maratua.

The narrow gap to get into the entrance

Rocky walls surround us here

Jalan masuk menuju Gua Sembat juga terlihat jelas, tinggal berjalan memasuki hutan selama sekitar 10 menit. Sebelum masuk ke area dimana Gua terlihat kita mesti melewati celah yang sempit, bahkan ukuran badan seperti saya pun harus miring miring untuk melewati celah tersebut. Namun setelah melewati celah anda akan melihat area yang dikelilingi dinding batu, dengan gua persis di depan anda.

Its also easy to find the entrance for the path to the Sembat Cave. You just gotta walk into the forest just about 10 minutes until you find a very narrow gap between two wall of stone. It's so narrow that I even have to walk sideways to pass through the gap. But after passing it, you'll realize you're surrounded by stone walls, with the cave right in front of you.

Its like a big human head attached to the cave walls

The rays make the color of the lake visible

Some dive in this place

Di pintu masuk Gua Sembat langsung terlihat batuan yang berbentuk seperti kepala manusia di bagian kanan atas, memberi efek yang menarik dengan adanya danau di bagian bawah gua. Air di danau ini sangat biru dan dapat diselami, namun tentunya dengan kategorisasi khusus. Saya pun tidak mencoba diving di Gua ini, maybe next time.

 
At the entrance you can see a rock in a form of human head in the upper right of the cave. It gave interesting effects when combined with the blue lake at the bottom. The water of the lake is clearly blue. Some also dive in this place but of course with specific categorization. I, myself, did not try diving inside the cave, well maybe next time.

Meski terlihat curam, namun ada tangga kayu yang dibuat penduduk lokal untuk menuju ke danau. Di saat matahari bersinar terang, sinar masuk dari celah celah di langit langit gua, membuat warna biru air semakin jelas. One more beautiful place you gotta visit while in Maratua Island.

Even though it looks steep, but there's a wooden staircase made by local residents to down to the lake. And, when the sun shine brightly, the rays coming from the slits in the cave ceiling, making the clear blue water so vivid. One more beautiful place you gotta visit while in Maratua Island.

@marischkaprue - one of her dream thing to do is cave diving

Photos taken by Samsung NX300

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