Purwakarta, West Java: A Short Profile

Purwakarta is a regency in West Java, lying north-west of Bandung, and the name refers both to the wider administrative area and to its principal town, which is the regency seat. The town of Purwakarta is an administrative district in its own right. Two places are often mentioned alongside it: the Jatiluhur reservoir to the west, and Wanayasa, which was the earlier seat of government.

The Jatiluhur dam and reservoir

The Jatiluhur Dam is a multi-purpose embankment dam on the Citarum River, and its reservoir lies west of Purwakarta town. Construction began in 1957, and the dam was designed by the French firm Coyne et Bellier. The power station began operating in 1967, with an installed capacity of about 187 megawatts. The reservoir covers roughly 83 square kilometres, or 8,300 hectares, and it is the largest reservoir in Indonesia.

The dam was built for several purposes at once. Its functions include hydroelectric power, water supply, flood control, aquaculture and irrigation, and the reservoir helps irrigate about 240,000 hectares of rice fields. The reservoir sits in the Jatiluhur district of the regency and is a separate outing from the town itself.

Purwakarta town and the seat of government

The regency seat moved from Wanayasa to Sindangkasih in the 1830s. Sindangkasih is now one of the urban villages of Purwakarta town, and the name Purwakarta was given to the town after that move. The modern town centre grew from this change of seat.

In the town, the Sri Baduga Water Fountain Park is a public park built around water and music displays. It lies close to Situ Buleud, a round lake in the town that is a useful landmark for orientation. The lake and the fountain park can be visited together, while the reservoir requires a separate journey by road.

Planning a visit to the regency

Purwakarta works best as a set of separate outings rather than one compact attraction. Choose the town for its civic centre and urban base, add Jatiluhur for the scale of the water landscape, and look towards Wanayasa for the former seat of government. For a broader view of how to reach and move around the province, see the getting around West Java guide.

The district pages for the regency give more detail on each area, including the Wanayasa district and the Sukasari district.