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On the afternoon of July 17, 2006, a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake struck off the southern coast of Java. The quake was barely felt in Pangandaran, a popular beach holiday town that sits on a small peninsula.

Less than an hour later, the sea retreated and a powerful three-meter-high tsunami came crashing down on the town, pushing boats ashore and destroying buildings. The Ministry of Health estimated that more than 660 people were killed in the disaster.

But over a sunny long weekend, you’d never guess that the tourist strip in this West Java town was flattened less than four years ago. Families piled atop quad bikes zoom up and down streets, becak (rickshaw) drivers pedal back and forth looking for customers, teenagers try and fail to ride four-person bicycles and makeshift seafood warung (streetside stalls) sprout as naturally as palm trees from the sand.

You have to look harder to find the evidence of the destruction from the big wave. Thankfully, it is clearest in the town’s attempts to prevent such destruction from happening again. Street signs mark tsunami evacuation zones and the best route to high ground, both in town and in Pangandaran National Park, which proudly occupies a rocky headland at the south of the peninsula.

Along the coast, further from the main stretch of shops and guesthouses, are the more obvious remnants of the tsunami. Salt-licked walls with gaping holes stand forlornly, seaside plots of land lie empty and the jungle has begun to encroach on the crumbling foundations of abandoned houses.

“Some people left the area after the tsunami because they were scared,” our guide, Deni Nurdian, says, pointing out the facade of a hotel that had been completed just weeks before the tsunami hit and was left destroyed, with the owners having no money to rebuild.

Deni also happened to be in the area during the tsunami. He says he beat the wave by scrambling up a coconut tree. He tells us that the owner of the guesthouse where we are staying tumbled along in the murky waters, but managed to swim to safety. The waitress from the cafe down the road outran the water, tearing barefoot to the rice paddies with her baby boy on her waist.

For guides like Deni, the gradual return of tourists to the area after the tragedy has been a hard-won achievement. For a year following the disaster, guides, surfing teachers and even those providing accommodation offered their services for free to try and lure back visitors to spend money and help restore the local economy. Pangandaran is once again attracting a steady flow of domestic tourists, especially those chasing waves at what is regarded as one of Java’s best surf beaches, as well as some foreign backpackers.

In many ways, the recovery is not surprising, given the area’s bounty of natural beauty and the friendly locals’ passion for showing it off.

The town sits right in the middle of the triangle-shaped peninsula, just 400 meters wide at its narrowest point. On the west side, a calm surf beach attracts the boogie-board and family holiday crowd, while on the quieter eastern side, a scenic bay is home to numerous fishing boats.

The national park is inviting, with some concrete paths and easy tracks, and hosts a white-sand beach with a reef for snorkeling, large caves to explore and gray- and-white monkeys that have a penchant for stealing water bottles from tourists distracted with snapping photos.

In June and July, giant Rafflesia flowers, also known as corpse flowers because of their stench, can be spotted in the national park.

Not far from town is Green Canyon, a stunning rocky crevice with hanging greenery, dramatic waterfalls and clear water on a good day. The canyon’s entrance is an hour away by car, and you can catch a small boat from there up to the more scenic area of the waterway.

While some sightseers are happy just to perch on a rock and take the requisite scenic photos, swimming into the canyon is the best way to appreciate it. This is where a guide becomes invaluable (especially one with knowledge of where the rocks are) because of the strong current.

Life-jackets are available for weaker swimmers. But if you’re afraid of bruises, this may not be the adventure for you, even if the 150-meter swim to see the waterfall cascading down the rock face is worth a few bumps and the float back to the boat is easy. As for thrill-seekers, they can get their adrenaline fix by taking a plunge from a high rock ledge into the canyon.

But Pangandaran is not the only place to catch a wave in the vicinity. Further around the coast, about a 20-minute drive from Green Canyon, lies Batu Keras, another relaxed beach lined with seafood restaurants, boogie boards and countless ice cream vendors. At Batu Keras, you can rent a rattan mat and lie in the sun. You can also join the throng of kids in the surf.

For the culture vultures, the area offers an interesting fusion of Sundanese and Javanese history, reflected even in the languages spoken. There are ample opportunities to see snippets of local life, such as the way coconuts are used to make brown sugar and bedding materials.

On our way to Green Canyon, Deni introduced us to one of the area’s award-winning dalang (puppet masters), Rojikin Supriadi Putra, who not only makes his own wayang golek (Sundanese wooden puppets) by hand, but also performs.

Rojikin put on a mini-performance for our group of five, cutting down the Ramayana Hindu classic into the bits most easily appreciated by foreigners with poor local language skills — the fight scenes.

Back in town, the pasar ikan (fish market) on the eastern side is a food lover’s heaven. A number of reasonably priced rumah makan (restaurants) are lined along the strip with Styrofoam boxes full of seafood so fresh that some of it is still moving. The menu is dictated by the day’s catch — you point at whatever crab, fish, shrimp or squid you desire, then choose from a list of sauces to suit your taste, whether it’s fiery Padang sauce, sweet-and-sour or classic oyster. If you follow the crowds of locals, you’ll easily find the favorites among the bunch.

In terms of nightlife, Bamboo Cafe on the western beach offers live music on weekends, but other than that, the best place to relax is on the west beach with a Bintang in hand to enjoy Pangandaran’s spectacular sunset.
The view down Pangandaran’s west beach toward the headland that hosts the national park. Local puppeteer Rojikin Supriadi performing at his workshop and studio.