Sundak Beach: Yogyakarta

There are so many attractions for visitors in Java, and particularly Yogyakarta. It has beautiful, windswept beaches and interesting villages whose occupants make a living from the ocean.

The whole of the southern coastline is battered by massive swells and not really convivial for surfing but I have seen a few foolish tourists tackling the strong currents. Sundak Beach is one of these as Singgir Kartana explains:

Little may be known about Sundak Beach along Gunungkidul’s southern coast, as it is not as popular as other frequently visited beaches in the area like Baron, Krakal and Kukup.

In fact, Sundak has many charms to offer.

Located some 25 kilometers to the southeast of the Gunungkidul capital Wonosari, Sundak has yet to become one of the regency’s main tourist attractions.

But many consider Sundak more beautiful than other more well-known beaches. Apart from its beautiful coast, it also offers a hilly landscape surrounding the beach.

Visitors to Sundak will enter a shade-covered beach, with green trees at the mouth of the beach offering a great place to enjoy the breeze as the rolling waves break onto the white-sand shore.

Though largely undeveloped, the beach has public facilities including a roomy parking area, a rest area, a prayer room, lavatory, stage and playground.

Visitors can also explore a cave not far from the beach. Located to the east of Sundak, the five-meter long cave is situated on a finger of land extending out into the sea.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, visitors are able to enjoy the beautiful landscape and view of other beaches along the coast, including Baron, Krakal, Wediombo, Ngungap, Ngobaran, Kukup and more. There is another cave located down a hill to the north of the beach. Although the mouth of the case seems to be only a small passage, it is relatively roomy inside.

What is unique with this particular cave is that from inside it visitors can observe an underground river measuring some four meters wide and two meters deep, flowing through the cave into the sea. The water of the river is very clear and locals use it for their daily needs.

Visitors also need not to worry about light inside the cave because holes in the roof along sunlight to penetrate the gloom.

The entire area is also cleaner and fresher than other beaches in the region. Although basically a fishing hubs, there is no unpleasant fish smell on the beach. That’s probably because of its location relatively separated from the fish market.

However, when the catch comes in visitors just need to walk some 200 meters down the beach to the market where they can buy fresh fish. Bawal is one of the most popular fish in the area. One kilogram of it usually costs between Rp 20,000 and 25,000.

Locals also catch lobsters, setting traditional traps, and there are plenty of fresh lobsters at the market.

Other attractions include the rare trees locally known as drini, which used to be found only on the nearby Drini Island.

Sarindi, 48, a local villager, is trying to preserve the rare tree by plating them around Sundak Beach.

Access to the beach is simply, with a paved road having been provided by the local government. However, the entrance passage to the beach is damaged and makes for a bumpy ride.
For Rp 8,500 per person, visitors gain access to the four beaches of Krakal, Kukup, Baron and Sundak.

“But so far we only have had a relatively small number of visitors coming. It may be due to the damaged entrance road that they are reluctant to come here,” Marsudi, a parking attendant at Sundak Beach, said.

Another resident expressed his optimism about the future.

“We do believe that if developed properly, this could be the most beautiful beach to visit in the region. We have a racing circuit around here as well as a place where sea turtles lay eggs,” Ponco said