Tourism of Indonesia
Ready to Go to The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak
Planning to go on a tour or travelling, we definitely want a smooth trip, comfortable accommodation, cheap hotels, good food, cheap plane tickets, close to everywhere, and can rent a motorbike or car.
Attraction
In The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak, there is natural beauty and unique culture of the local community. There are many uniqueness, starting from the village (desa), sub-district (kecamatan), district (kabupaten) and provincial levels.
In Indonesia, each province has different and interesting characteristics. Each province has a different and unique culture and lifestyle.
The Equator monument is located on the equator in Pontianak, Indonesia. It marks the division between the northern and southern hemispheres
The Equator monument is also known as Tugu Katulistiwa.
The monument consists of four iron wood poles, each with a diameter of about 0,30 meter, with frontage bollard height is two pieces as high as 3,05 radiant place backside bollard and the signpost dart as high as 4,40 meters.
Among all countries in the world, only twelve straddle the Equator. While among the countless cities within those twelve countries, only one sits right on this invisible line that separates the earth’s southern from the northern hemisphere.
Pontianak, capital of the province of West Kalimantan and formerly known as West Borneo, has the distinction of being the only city in the world that sits right on the Equator, a fact that needs no international approval nor agreement.
This is the very reason why the Equatorial monument was built here, although Pontianak’s founder, Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie was not in the slightest aware of this fact.
Using simple tools and methods, an unnamed Dutch geographer and explorer spearheaded a mission to find a city on the Equator. Eventually, in 1928, he found this city by the longest river in the Indonesian archipelago that was the sole urban setting right on the line of the Equator.
He immediately marked the spot on the river bank of Kapuas Kecil (small Kapuas) with a simple pole and an arrow. Only 70 years later, when the monument had passed many renovations and reconstructions, that Indonesia’s Agency for Applied Technology made precise studies, made corrections to the exact spot of the Equator using geographic positioning system.
Although the difference proved to be quite considerable, yet admiration to the original team of explorers remains and will never be forgotten.
The Equatorial monument was initially built from four ironwood pillars. The ironwood was locally obtained and constructed to keep up an arrow as symbol of orientation or reference.
The Dutch word: ‘EVENAAR’ is clearly written on the arrow, meaning ‘equator’, or ‘Khatulistiwa’ in Bahasa Indonesia. It was later recorded that a globe was affixed to it in 1930, and a Dutch officer, by the name of Herman Neijenhuis was assigned to guard the monument from 1936 to 1940.
The government is taking good care of the preservation of nature and maintaining the condition of the forest.
The environment is also well maintained.
Activity
Visiting The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak, we will witness routine community activities in unique traditional cultures. And there are special dishes and food as part of culinary tours that are delicious and yummy.
Twice a year, the shadow-less sunlight occurs here, as the sun reaches its zenith on the Vernal Equinox (March 21st – 23rd), and the Autumnal Equinox (September 21st – 23rd).
These bi-annual events are commemorated here as visitors and locals enjoy a five-minute shadow less moment in the best ‘hot spot’ of Borneo.
The word Borneo is believed to originate from a remark made by Pigafetta and the explorer Magellan’s companions in 1521, giving the name ‘Burne’ to the entire island, described as being an extremely large island, for it took the sailors three months to circumnavigate it.
Today, Borneo is a land found to be rich in coal, oil, and gas deposits, and remains one of the largest remaining tropical rain forest reserves in Indonesia.
While the town of Pontianak with its Equatorial Monument distinguishes as the only city in the world that sits right on that imaginary line called the Equator, separating the earth’s northern from the southern hemisphere.
In this place there are also regular events or activities held every year, both national and international.
Accessibility
The journey to The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak is now very easy. We can enter through various modes of transportation.
Access to go The Equatorial Monument:
Take a taxi, angkot, or a private or rented car to the west bank of Pontianak. You will reach a district called Siantan. The first thing to notice is a bridge crossing the Landak River which means that you have crossed the Kapuas river and are on the other side of the city.
The monument is only 5 kilometers on the north end of the city. Due to heavy traffic along the way, the trip to the monument may take you between 30 to 40 minutes
The condition of the infrastructure is getting better. Starting from highways, airports, trails, ports, bridges, stairs, even some places can be reached by toll roads.
We can visit by plane, car, ship, bus, motorcycle and bicycle. At some point, we can take the train. We can also walk freely.
Amenity
In The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak, as technology getting better. We can easily find locations for mini markets, shops (warung kedai), Money Changer, ATMs, Bank BRI BCA BNI Mandiri, BTPN Bank Nagari BJB, supermarkets, and restaurants. So we will not starve or lack the necessary items.
Suggestion Before Visiting The Equatorial Monument:
Find out about the history of the monument’s developments and renovations inside the dome. It is interesting how such a small museum can deliver “huge” facts about the site and astronomical data.
Take a picture of yourself right under the monument and take note whether you are on the northern or southern hemisphere. Also buy a souvenir from the museum. A certificate is printed out for you as you enter the museum.
Check the corrected spot of the zero degree and make a scientific experiment or two to prove the natural phenomenon as you stand on the ‘neutral zone”.
They say that, you will tend to be more ‘balanced’ when you stand on one foot on the exact spot that is identified as being at zero degree.
You can take a river cruise to see the monument from the boat. It gives a more spectacular perspective as you watch the living culture of the people living on the ‘edge’.
If you are sick and need help, you can also visit clinics, drugstore pharmacies (apotek), practice doctors, hospitals, and health centers (puskesmas).
In this place we can also look for places of worship such as mosques, churches, and others.
Accommodation
Finding place to stay in The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak is very easy. We can stay at homestays, hotels, inns, hostels and other places.
To get lodging at a cheap and definitely comfortable price, please see below:
Booking.com
Experience and Reviews
There are already many visitors have visited The Equatorial Monument of Pontianak, there are many interesting stories that are told. Like feeling satisfied, happy, wanting to come again, sleep well, and almost no one is disappointed or complains to come here.
So, visitors will find out on how to find the best hotels, where is exactly located, why it is amazing, how much is the fare and rate, who are the people, whom to ask, and when is the best time to visit.
We can visit these tourist attractions from Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Redep, Tanjung Selor, Tapak Tuan, Tarakan, Tarutung, Tasikmalaya, Muara Bungo, Muara Enim, Muara Teweh, Muaro Sijunjung, Muntilan, Nabire, Negara, Nganjuk,
That’s all the information we provided, hopefully useful.
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