Banjaroya Reservoir in Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta

Locally speaking, a water reservoir is called either “Embung” or “Waduk”. Well, regardless of the name, people may recognize it as the natural site to store water. The thing is it also becomes an interesting tourist spot for everyone to visit during holidays due to the serene nuance and beautiful scenery. In Kulon Progo Regency, for instance, tourists can find Embung KP Banjaroya. As the name suggests, it is located in Banjaroyo Village and it belongs to Kalibawang Sub-District. In terms of function, it stores the excessive rainwater during the rainy season. The locals take advantage of it to irrigate their farms, as well. Still, it also functions as a new attractive tourist site for everyone to explore!

The Nuance
Once arriving at the location, the first object that tourists may notice is none other than the unique durian statue. It resides in the midst of the park built near to reservoir and becomes the best place to take selfies and conduct photography, for sure. What about Embung Banjaroya itself? In terms of size, it has the width of about 60 x 80 meters and it is able to store approximately 8-10 thousands m3 of water! Also, there is a reason why the local government built the durian statue there. It is because the site is near to the vast durian plantation having the total area of 30 hectares! In fact, the reservoir is able to irrigate it well during the long dry season!

Exploring Banjaroya Reservoir
Even though Banjaroya Reservoir is considered smaller than others, it has more interesting features for tourists to enjoy during the visit. For instance, it is related to the location which resides in Menoreh Hill area. No wonder, it comes with an amazing scenery and comfortable atmosphere! The next impressive feature is the presence of a small beautiful park with a unique durian statue on it. As mentioned before, the statue represents the best commodity of Kalibawang Sub-District. There is even a durian festival held during the harvest season.

Even though Banjaroya Reservoir comes with such excellent features, there is no ticket fee at all in order to enter the location. What tourists need to pay is only the parking fee if they come with a private vehicle. As for the operation time, the site is only available for tourists starting from 7 am in the morning and 5 pm in the afternoon. The best thing is the site provides ample facilities to visitors including gazebos, toilets, and small food vendors.

As for tourist activities, most visitors are likely to enjoy sightseeing and relaxation either in the morning or afternoon. During the good weather, in fact, everyone is able to see majestic Merbabu and Merapi Mountain clearly! Also, the sunset looks perfect from there. What is more? Another popular thing to do is to conduct photography, especially taking selfies in front of the durian statue.

Nearby Attractions

• Watu Jengger Waterfall
• Watu Tekek Waterfall
• Sidoharjo Waterfall

How to Get There
The distance between Adisucipto International Airport and Banjaroya Reservoir is 41.7 km. That means the trip may take about 1 hour and 2 minutes to get to the site. Have no worries. It becomes faster if tourists take Magelang – Purworejo Street. What they need to do is to get to Kalibawang Sub-District first. Next, they only need to reach Banjaroyo Village where the water reservoir is located.

Where to Stay

• Rimbono Homestay