Trip report: Gunung Gede, Indonesia (04/07/2022 – 09/07/2022)

Downloadable pdf with images.

Itinerary

4 July	Reach Jakarta airport, travel to Cibodas
5-8 July	Birding Gunung Gede
9 July	Depart Cibodas, leave via Jakarta airport

Planning the trip

I have visited Gunung Gede before twice (yes, I failed to clear the major targets twice) and was more or less familiar with the site. Nevertheless, Burung Nusantara was a useful resource, and trip reports from the following birders were helpful: Ross Gallardy and Sjoerd Radstaak.

General Logistics

SIM Card

Purchased at Jakarta airport. Be warned that getting a SIM card away from the airport can be difficult for foreigners unless you visit a shop that knows how to register your passport details. Recharging the pre-paid cards is instead very easy and can be done at any SIM stall (which is pretty much everywhere in Indonesia, including Cibodas).

Food

Ample dining options at Cibodas. Obtaining field food can be difficult as there are only small convenience shops there. I stock piled field food at a supermarket in Bogor (a major city – 6^th largest around Jakarta) before travelling.

There are typically no shops on the mountain itself, but it was Hari Raya (a public holiday) on my last day there, so there was a makeshift stall set up near the boardwalk. I drank from the streams near Camp 1 and water point at Camp 2 after treating the water with Aquatabs. Also, many campers were present during my visit and all of them that I struck conversations with offered me food and coffee. Yes, I’m not kidding. All!

Weather

It’s supposed to be dry(er) in July, but I experienced terrible rain on three of four afternoons. Typical mountain weather. Gede was effectively unbirdable after each rain, with minimal bird activity and thick fog encapsulating the forest.

Accommodation

Urbanview Hotel Mon Bel

Booked via booking.com, 977,500 IDR for five nights. Pretty clean. Quite chilly at night. Hot shower was available from 0600 hrs – 0800 hrs and 1700 hrs – 1900 hrs. Roughly 20 minutes brisk walk to entrance of Gunung Gede.

Transport

From Jakarta airport I took a bus from the company Damri to Bogor (120,000 IDR; Bogor terminal at GPS: -6.60207, 106.80590). It was very easy to find the airport terminal and all I had to do was follow the “Public Bus” signs after exiting customs. The journey there was smooth and took about 2 hours. To return from Bogor to Jakarta airport I took the same bus, and the even quicker journey took just 1 hour 10 minutes. The buses depart every hour both ways.

To get from Bogor to Cibodas I was initially planning to travel via public transport, but following instructions on Burung Nusantara did not work out. Staffs at the “small bus terminal left of Damri” (GPS: -6.603681, 106.806032) told me there were no buses to Cipanas, and instead advised me to find one at Ciawi. It took me 35 minutes and 10,000 IDR to get to Ciawi via Angkot 01 (green on blue; Angkots refer to those mini vans you see all over Indonesia, each with different destinations according to their numbers), but there, I was again told there were no buses towards Cipanas, and a local instead offered to take me to Cibodas directly on his bike for 150,000 IDR. I should really have just done that from the start, but for some reason it did not occur to me until then that bike transport was a viable option. Traffic was catastrophic along Puncak Pass (the road connecting Bogor to Cibodas) and this decision to board a bike definitely saved 3-4 hours of my life.

To return from Cibodas to Bogor I booked a ride via Grab (99,000 IDR) which again took about an hour. Large sections of Puncak Pass were closed for four wheeled vehicles, and it would surely have taken me an entire day had I not taken a bike.

*Warning: unscheduled road closures along Puncak Pass on weekends/public holidays are typical*

Birding

The general birding area of Gunung Gede are well elaborated in the abovementioned resources, but in summary involves three main parts:

1. Entrance to the waterfall X summit junction area (where lower elevation birds can be encountered; at this section there are two key landmarks: the Blue Lake roughly 30 minutes from the entrance, and a huge boardwalk just a few minutes after)
2. Waterfall X summit junction to Camp 2 (for most other key targets)
3. Beyond Camp 2 to the summit (mainly for Island Thrush and Volcano Swiftlet). Getting from the entrance to the summit at a slow hiking pace took me about 5.5 hours.

The general advice is to avoid birding Gunung Gede on weekends and public holidays. I didn’t have much of a choice because of my schedule and spent a morning at the lower section a day before the holiday, and the public holiday itself mainly between the Camp 1 and Camp 2. The trails were not jam packed, but I was constantly distracted by giving space to others and making small talks. Having said that, I managed to see the Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush on a public holiday, so I guess on hindsight birding was actually passable.

The sad weather meant that I could only get two mornings + a day of proper birding done. My targets were quite specific during this trip, and I effectively walked through the forest deaf because I had no time to learn the calls of my non-targets. I had the chance to bump into a BirdTour Asia group led by Mike Nelson that had much better birds, so don’t take my list too seriously. Below are notes regarding my key targets.

Salvadori’s Nightjar: several silent birds flying above Blue Lake at dusk (thanks Mike for the advice!), but only two spontaneously calling birds heard despite spending two dawns and dusks each at the appropriate zone. Attempting to find them at the waterfall was hopeless and it felt impractical to listen for their calls amidst the gushing water. Spotlighting only reflected water vapour.

Volcano Swiftlet: was nearly fogged out at the summit but saw at least two and possibly up to seven birds, around 0900 hrs.

Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon: multiple heard beyond Camp 1 but could not see any.

Javan Woodcock: dipped despite efforts, doubt I will ever see it.

Javan Frogmouth: had to work hard for a pair near the Blue Lake at GPS: -6.748380,106.992709, but actually very common between the entrance to the waterfall X summit junction. I even had a chance encounter with a quiet bird perched above the near the Blue Lake.

Javan Owlet: dipped but encountered ~six birds between the entrance and Blue Lake. Was more vocal in the day than at dawn/dusk/night.

Javan Scops Owl: common by call from Blue Lake up to Camp 2 but super tough to see. One eventually seen near the Blue Lake at GPS: -6.748356,106.991666.

Brown-throated Barbet: dipped. Spent a full morning and one late afternoon at the lower section but heard zero and nothing responded.

Javan Scimitar Babbler: dipped. Tried between Camp 1 to Camp 2 but encountered none.

Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush: any poacher that does not know the open secret about where they can be found on Gunung Gede should seriously consider a career change. Not sharing the coordinates regardless since it seems to be taboo. Encountered just a single bird somewhere between Camp 1 and Camp 2 after three laps up and down.

Javan Cochoa: surprisingly silent. Heard a single unresponsive bird at Camp 2 and, after three painful trips to this mountain, finally managed to nail one at GPS: -6.765047,106.983313.

Other birds that might be of interest – Island Thrush and Javan Tesia, seen between Camp 2 and summit (Tesia can be found lower too); Pin-tailed Parrotfinch, feeding on food scraps at Camp 2; Javan Trogon, multiple heard and seen from the waterfall X summit junction up to Camp 1, plus a nesting bird at Camp 1; Chestnut-bellied Partridge, several calling near the boardwalk and around Camp 2 at dawn, also found one roosting bird when chasing the Javan Scops Owl; Javan Hawk-eagle, Black Eagle, Javan Kingfisher, Ashy Drongo, Sangkar White-eye among the many species seen from the boardwalk; Sunda Forktail along the stream after Blue Lake.

Systematic List of Birds

42 species seen, 16 heard only (in grey)

Taxonomy follows IOC 12.1.

1	Chestnut-bellied Partridge	Arborophila javanica
2	Salvadori’s Nightjar	Caprimulgus pulchellus
3	Javan Frogmouth	Batrachostomus javensis
4	Cave Swiftlet	Collocalia linchi
5	Volcano Swiftlet	Aerodramus vulcanorum
6	Chestnut-breasted Malkoha	Phaenicophaeus curvirostris
7	Rusty-breasted Cuckoo	Cacomantis sepulcralis
8	Sunda Cuckoo	Cuculus lepidus
9	Dark-backed Imperial Pigeon	Ducula lacernulata
10	Crested Serpent Eagle	Spilornis cheela
11	Javan Hawk-eagle	Nisaetus bartelsi
12	Black Eagle	Ictinaetus malaiensis
13	Javan Owlet	Glaucidium castanopterum
14	Javan Scops Owl	Otus angelinae
15	Javan Trogon	Apalharpactes reinwardtii
16	Javan Kingfisher	Halcyon cyanoventris
17	Fire-tufted Barbet	Psilopogon pyrolophus
18	Flame-fronted Barbet	Psilopogon armillaris
19	Buff-necked Woodpecker	Meiglyptes tukki
20	Banded Broadbill	Eurylaimus javanicus
21	Black-winged Flycatcher-shrike	Hemipus hirundinaceus
22	Sunda Minivet	Pericrocotus miniatus
23	Pied Shrike-babbler	Pteruthius flaviscapis
24	Trilling Shrike-babbler	Pteruthius aenobarbus
25	Ashy Drongo	Dicrurus leucophaeus
26	Rufous-tailed Fantail	Rhipidura phoenicura
27	Cinereous Tit	Parus cinereus
28	Orange-spotted Bulbul	Pycnonotus bimaculatus
29	Pacific Swallow	Hirundo tahitica
30	Striated Swallow	Cecropis striolata
31	Pygmy Cupwing	Pnoepyga pusilla
32	Mountain Tailorbird	Phyllergates cucullatus
33	Sunda Bush Warbler	Horornis vulcanius
34	Javan Tesia	Tesia superciliaris
35	Sunda Warbler	Phylloscopus grammiceps
36	Mountain Leaf Warbler	Phylloscopus trivirgatus
37	Olive-backed Tailorbird	Orthotomus sepium
38	Mees’s White-eye	Heleia javanica
39	Sangkar White-eye	Zosterops melanurus
40	Crescent-chested Babbler	Cyanoderma melanothorax
41	Horsfield’s Babbler	Malacocincla sepiaria
42	Eyebrowed Wren-babbler	Napothera epilepidota
43	Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush	Garrulax rufifrons
44	Blue Nuthatch	Sitta azurea
45	Javan Cochoa	Cochoa azurea
46	Island Thrush	Turdus poliocephalus
47	Indigo Flycatcher	Eumyias indigo
48	Lesser Shortwing	Brachypteryx leucophris
49	White-browed Shortwing	Brachypteryx montana
50	Sunda Forktail	Enicurus velatus
51	Javan Whistling Thrush	Myophonus glaucinus
52	Little Pied Flycatcher	Ficedula westermanni
53	Snowy-browed Flycatcher	Ficedula hyperythra
54	Blood-breasted Flowerpecker	Dicaeum sanguinolentum
55	White-flanked Sunbird	Aethopyga eximia
56	Eurasian Tree Sparrow	Passer montanus
57	Javan Munia	Lonchura leucogastroides
58	Pin-tailed Parrotfinch	Erythrura prasina