Batu City

Batu, officially the City of Batu (Indonesian: Kota Batu, Javanese: ꦏꦸꦛꦧꦠꦸ), is a city in the East Java Province of Indonesia. It is about 20 km to the northwest of Malang. Formerly, it was a part of Malang Regency; but in June 2001, Batu became an independent city (by Act No. 11 of 2001), with its own mayor and council.
With a population of 213,046 people at the 2020 Census, which rose to 221,714 as officially estimated as of mid-2023 (comprising 111,390 males and 110,324 females), Batu lies on the southern slopes of Mount Arjuno-Welirang. Its population largely consists of Javanese. The town used to be a recreation place for the Dutch colonial officers in the Dutch colonial area (before 1945). Batu means "rock" in Indonesian.
Since the 10th century, the area of Batu and its surroundings has been known as a resting place for the royal family, because the region is a mountainous area with comfortable air, also supported by the beauty of natural scenery as a characteristic of mountainous regions.
During the reign of the Mataram Kingdom under King Sindok, a royal official named Mpu Supo was ordered by the King to build a royal family resting place in the mountains with nearby water springs. With a hard effort, finally Mpu Supo discovered an area that is now better known as the tourist area of Songgoriti. With the approval of King Sindok, Mpu Supo began to build the Songgoriti area as a royal family retreat and built a temple named Supo Temple.
Some local community leaders said that the title Batu comes from the name of a cleric follower of Prince Diponegoro named Abu Ghonaim referred to as the Kyai Gubug Angin which later the local community was familiar with calling Mbah Wastu. From Javanese cultural habits that often shorten and shorten the designation of someone's name which is considered too long, also to make it shorter and faster when calling someone, finally Mbah Wastu is called Mbah Tu to be Mbatu or Batu as a term used for a mild climate city in East Java.
The history of Abu Ghonaim's existence as a forerunner and person known as a community leader who started the "babad alas" which was used as an inspiration from the designation of the Batu region. Abu Ghonaim was from the Central Java region. Abu Ghonaim as a loyal follower of Prince Diponegoro, intentionally left his native area of Central Java and moved to the hillside of Mount Panderman to avoid the pursuit and arrest of the Dutch soldiers (Kompeni). Abu Ghonaim or Mbah Wastu started his new life together with the surrounding community. Finally, many residents and surrounding communities and other communities came around the residence of Mbah Wastu. Initially, they lived in a group (community) in the Bumiaji, Sisir and Temas.
The city of Batu lies on the slopes of several mountains. The most prominent are Mount Anjasmoro (2,277 m), Mount Arjuno (3,339 m), Mount Welirang (3,156 m), Mount Banyak (1,306 m), Mount Kawi (2,551 m), Mount Panderman (2,045 m), Mount Semeru (3.676 m), and Mount Wukir (335 m).
In the 19th century, the Dutch East Indies government developed Batu as a mountain resort. Villas and resort facilities were built in Batu during the period. Most of the topography of Batu City is dominated by highland and hilly terrain with valleys running down mountain slopes. In northern Batu, there is a dense forest, Raden Soerjo Forest Park, which is a protected forest area.
Most soils in Batu city are andosols, sequentially present with cambisol, latosol and alluvial. These form mechanical soils which contain substantial amounts of minerals coming from volcanic eruptions. These soils tend to be very fertile.
Batu is a near-exact antipode (or polar opposite) to the city of San Fernando de Apure, Venezuela.
The climate in Batu city at lower elevation (700-900 meters) features tropical monsoon climate (Am), and at higher elevation (900-1800 meters), the city's climate is classified by Köppen as subtropical highland climate (Cwb). The driest month is August with a total precipitation of 35 millimetres (1.4 in), while the wettest month is January with a total precipitation of 406 millimetres (16.0 in). The temperature is moderated by the altitude, as the city is located at an average of 953 metres (3,127 ft) above sea level. The hottest month is October with an average of 22.2 °C (72.0 °F), while the coolest month is August with an average of 11.4 °C (52.5 °F).
The city is divided into three districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the numbers of administrative villages (urban kelurahan) in each district, and its postal codes.
The districts are further subdivided into 24 urban villages (kelurahan). The names of the urban villages are:
The economy of Batu City is highly dependent on tourism and agriculture. The location of Batu City in the mountainous region has ninspired rapid tourism development which sector has created most of the GDP growth in Batu. In agriculture, Batu is one of the largest apple-producing regions in Indonesia, which makes it dubbed "The City of Apples". Apple agriculture in Batu has four varieties, there are "Manalagi", "Rome Beauty", "Anna", and "Wangling". The city also produces a lot of vegetables, and garlic. Besides that, Batu is also an artist city where there are many painting and art galleries.
Batu has several shopping centers ranging from modern shopping centers to traditional markets. Among the most famous modern shopping centers are Lippo Plaza Batu and Plaza Batu, while the famous traditional market in Batu is Pasar Batu. In addition, there is also a floating market in Batu called the Nusantara Floating Market which is the first floating market in East Java. The Nusantara Floating Market Complex is a unit of the Museum Angkut tourism complex in Batu.
Batu is well known for its tourism sites. notable examples include:
There is a historic colonial-style hotel, the Kartika Wijaya. It was founded in 1891 by the Sarkies Brothers, prominent Armenian immigrants best known for founding a chain of luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia. Originally built as a vacation villa for the Sarkies family, it was later turned into a hotel.
Batu ranks second after Bali in terms of the number of tourists visiting, in 2023 Batu City will receive 10 million tourists and in 2024 it is estimated that there will be 12 million tourist visits estimated by Government.