Palabuhanratu or Pelabuhan Ratu ( Sundanese for: 'Harbor of the Queen') is a district and fishing town which serves as the

regency seat A regency seat ( id, Ibu kota kabupaten) is an capital or seat of government of a regency in Indonesia. It is roughly equivalent of county seat in the United States or county town in the United Kingdom. Legally, regency seats are not administrati ...

of Sukabumi Regency. It is at the southwest coast of Palabuhanratu Bay,

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

facing the Indian Ocean. It is a four-hour drive from Bandung and up to a 12-hour drive from Indonesia's capital Jakarta due to traffic jams in Ciawi, Cicurug, Cibadak and Pelabuhan Ratu gate, whose residents love to visit the bay 'Teluk Palabuhanratu', once named 'Wijnkoopersbaai' (wine merchant's bay) by the Dutch. The bay is shaped like a horseshoe and has enormous waves that can be very treacherous. The Sundanese locals say that the Indian Ocean is the home of Nyai Loro Kidul who reigns along the southern coast of Java.

Economy

Ocean fishing port

The current port has been improved to become an ocean fishing port with investment of Rp.415 billion ($48.8 million) on a 17-hectare area expansion. The project was initialized in September 2011.

Tourism

Coastline

The Pelabuhan Ratu's white sands beach is a popular vacation destination for visitors from Sukabumi, Bogor, Bandung and Jakarta. However, because of high rolling waves, some spots on the beach are considered too dangerous for swimming. Together with

Pangandaran Pangandaran is a town and district of Pangandaran Regency within the province of West Java, Indonesia. It is located on the southern coast of the island of Java. A well-known surfing beach has made Pangandaran a popular tourist destination. His ...

, the beaches are popular in West Java, both facing south towards the Indian Ocean. Hotels, restaurants, resorts, and tourism facilities were built in the vicinity. Among the oldest is The Samudra Beach Hotel, established in 1966 commissioned by then Indonesian president Sukarno. Sukarno was involved with the exact location and the idea for the Samudra Beach Hotel. The hotel keeps room 308 furnished with green colours and reserved for Nyai Loro Kidul. A painting of Nyai Rara Kidul by

Basuki Abdullah Fransiskus Xaverius Basuki Abdullah (born Muhammad Basuki Abdullah, January 25, 1915 – November 5, 1993) was an Indonesian painter and a convert to Roman Catholicism from Islam. His work is characterized as realism and has been exhibited ...

, a famous Indonesian painter, is displayed in this room.

Surfing location

Palabuhanratu has become a popular location for surfers in recent years, with its Indian Ocean location providing good waves. Several spots that are popular with for surfers are Cimaja Beach, Sunset Beach, Karang Sari Beach and Karang Aji Beach. From June 12 to 18, 2011 the second event of the West Java Surfing Championship was initialized at Cimaja Beach: a 750-meter beach with waves about 1 to 2 meters high. The competition got 6 stars surfing premium (the highest rank) as a part of Indonesian Surfing Championship and Asian Surfing Championship Tours. Cimaja Beach has many rocks, so sometimes it is called 'Beach Without Sand.'Asian Surfing Championship Tours
/ref>

Climate

Palabuhanratu has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with moderate rainfall from June to September and heavy to very heavy rainfall from October to May.

References

{{Tourist attractions in Indonesia Fishing communities Populated places in West Java Regency seats of West Java Sukabumi Regency Tourist attractions in West Java