5 MOST DANGEROUS BEACHES IN INDONESIA

In The Shallows, we saw super awesome view of the secluded beach of Nancy Adam's mother. The place was not just offers shades of blue sea, bright sky on the horizon, and the right waves for surfers but also a mystery that included beach’s name that can’t answered by all characters when she asked about it…

One thing for sure, no matter how happy she was in that charming place the fact is she had to keep the caution, something that looked calm usually hide something we don’t expect...the wisdom words says a rippling water marking no depth, the calmness of water marking its deep..and that was it, who would thought in a shallow beach like that she attacked by a giant fish known as The Great White Shark.

Although the beach name remains unknown till the end but I guess it might be Playa Zipolite. It was a beach in Mexico which defined in local language as “Coast of Death”, so named because it had captivate scenery like paradise that makes you not alert to the ferocious waves and dangerous current tug underneath.

Playa Zipolite

The frequency of tourist death who’s taking surfing are really high but apparently doesn’t discourage new visitors to came and tried to subdue the beach. Fortunately there are additional securities in the form of the coast guard in order to reduce the death rate.

So what if Nancy Adam came to Indonesia for a visit? What kind of dangerous beaches will she found here and where’s the place? Here are some choices…

1. Parangtritis Coast (Jogjakarta)

Parangtritis Coast, Jogjakarta

In the last five years 30 peoples died on this beach. For locals the beach was known not only dangerous but also had bad luck because it’s inhabited by Queen of the South Seas and Nyi Roro Kidul.

Don’t you dare to wear green clothes when you visiting this beach, if you do it means you’re challenged the ruling of the coast, for green was believed to be a formal color of her army’s uniform. Besides that, it also means that you willing to give yourself in because the color made the South Seas Queen like you and without you even realize the wave drag you into the middle of the vortex.

In terms of science, Parangtritis is dangerous because it has a reverse flow as a result of a wave that is not easily predictable. The waves are not comes at the same time to reach the shores so the unevenness causing dangerous backflow. It can be felt from wind speed that roars over other beaches in Indonesia.

The seabed of Parangtritis shaped like a basin, tourists like the area more because the waves relatively rare so that the water looks calmer, but you had to be careful because the wave could come suddenly.

Parangtritis is also had potential tsunami because it’s part of the Indian Ocean, the ocean with ferocious waves that directly relate to the South Pole, in case of a tsunami, the sea will drag us straight to the Pole without possibility of being stranded on a remote island.

2. Teluk Penyu Coast (Cilacap)

Teluk Penyu Coast, Cilacap

Teluk Penyu located on southern coast of Central Java, in Cilacap city to be precise. 

I lived in the city for about nine years so I knew exactly the difference the site was and at present time. Teluk Penyu when I was a child way much prettier, the lips shore went directly into the sea without bridges that exist to break its wave like now.

Though it used to be the pretty place in town but Teluk Penyu had many dangerous things. One was called Krawe. Krawe in Javanese known as a jellyfish that roam anywhere near the beach or the sea ramps. 

Their transparent form made us unaware when it got us, but eventually we felt the side effect such extreme itch, burnt-like, and even make people faint.

As part of the southern sea, Teluk Penyu coast nearly as dangerous as Parangtritis in Yogyakarta. In latest August as it is now the east wind could lead to waves as high as 2.5 meters in coastal areas and 3.5 meters in the ocean.

That's why many tourists came to this beach to surf but they had to beware when it reached the ocean because there are many sharks at roam. 

Local people knew how terrible sharks in there so when Johnny Indo, the fugitive of Nusakambangan jail, win the chance to escape by swimming across the sea to Cilacap his story turned to legend then.

3. Sawarna Coast (Lebak, Banten)

Sawarna Coast, Lebak-Banten

The comparison of beauty of Sawarna coast is way much different from the web info. You should go toward the place to feel the excitement when visiting the site directly. 

The beach is located in  Bayah, 4 hours drive from Pelabuhan Ratu, Sukabumi, to the west, this beaches that located in remote area is more beautiful than Kuta beach in Bali.

The quiet atmosphere, caused by rare visited of tourists, and its white sand is ideal picture of a gorgeous beach. The cluster of coral island in the middle of the sea decorate its panorama as well, makes us feel no regret to come to the place.

However, the alert come first because the weather forecast report their estimation of wave height could reach 1,5 to 3 meters high, with a wind speed at 24 kilometers per hour. The wind moves from the southeast at a speed of 12 knots so that the wave moves from the southeast to the visibility of 4-7 kilometers.

Quite high of the wave characters and its strong winds makes this beach one of those dangerous beaches to surf. But if you loved the challenge it’s advisable to use safety equipment. Besides that Sawarna also surrounded by rocks that would endanger them who’s careless or no good swimmer.

4. Bangko-Bangko Beach / Desert Point Beach (Lombok)

Dessert Point Beach, Lombok

Desert Point Beach still rated as a beach with the best waves on earth for surfers around the world, it’s because it has a very long wall hollow wave that able to propel the wave’s tongue to 300 meters long and around 3 meters of heights.

The waves actually not as dangerous as people think apart from boredom while waiting for the arrival of the waves, but you had to take notice closely to the shallow coral cluster within and around adjacent area to the coast

To surfed and splashed into it surely something that we've looking for, it will be pride for us whenever we conquered the waves, while the bleeding or abrasion on the back of our hand - which cause by malignant waves that slammed us into the reef - become a symbol of bravery, but still you had to be careful not to let the rock giving you more than that…

5. Ngantep Coast (Malang)

Ngantep Coast, Malang

This beach has calm waves, relatively, but it also had very strong undercurrent which usually dragged its victim. It has three streams:

The first stream is the east flows. This current will bring people drifting towards the shore. Usually, the victims would have survived from this stream.

Second stream is the west flows, which often brings traveler’s death to they who didn’t understand the situation and it get them towards the trough, it’s hard to save if they’ve got trap by the current.

The third is pointed straight. If it’s drifted by middle wave so the possibility to survive is about fifty percent, sometimes the current would drag the person to the centre of the ocean but if you’re lucky you could return to the shore.

So you had to watch the warning sign which area considered safe for swim, other than that just prepared to bear the consequences.

Well, it turned out that the danger of these five beaches was not emerge from a giant shark only but you had to anticipated natural hazards such as undercurrent and superstitious thing that whether you believe it or not it might happened strangely and becomes potential issued which believed could be possible dangers…

So which one you’d choose? The Mexican beach with great white shark or a haunted beach of Indonesian? Just fill the comment and share your thought…