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| Kaolin Lake - Bangka Island, Indonesia |
Bangka – Belitung is well-known of its abundance of tin. Every inch of its soil and surrounding sea is full of the precious shiny black mineral. As one of the world’s biggest tin producers in which Bangka – Belitung is the main spot, the tin mining industry left many stories to the people in both islands, from commercial success to ironic economic depression and ecological disaster.
It’s a brief case people should know, just to know, as the main thing is not the above description anyway. What I’m going to tell you here is one of the magnificent places in Bangka Island called Kaolin Lake, a blue water lake located in the southern part of the island.
Once people get here, I’m sure they will be amazed.
Kaolin Lake was originally a kaolin mining area that later on was stopped and just abandoned. Kaolin itself is a mineral clay popularly used for industrial purposes especially cosmetics, paper, toothpaste as its characteristics that are smooth, white and strong. From its size, it was undoubtedly used to be a massive mining area of kaolin in Bangka Island. There are two major lake, the right side which is blue and the left side which is green and less full-of water.
What makes it different is how it was formed. Compared to any other lake in Java like Kawah Putih in Bandung or Ijen Crater in which they were formed naturally and the water is hot and sulphuric, the Kaolin Lake is relatively okay. It was formed from the rain water reserved in the former mining area, and although it is as blue as ocean it’s not salty. The lake has the depth of around 30 meters (100 feet).
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| the green side of kaolin lake, Bangka |
The white “hill” surrounds the Kaolin Lake. It looks so dramatic and reminds us of Mount Batok next to Mount Bromo in East Java. It’s like the white version of Mount Batok. It’s just so beautiful and dramatic that I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it. The lake is located in the southern part of Bangka Island, in Desa Air Bara (Air Bara Village) and it is 90 minutes away from the city of Pangkal Pinang by car.
To go there, we have to take flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang (50-60 minutes) and then we take a car to the location. Thing to notice is that the location is in the inner, but do not worry as the signages are there to help direct the visitors, and anyway it’s near from the main road. And anyway the access from the main road is smooth and no traffic jam. Better go there on a sunny day. Moreover, it will be sooo beautiful under the sun.