PUNCAK KAHYANGAN

Imagine visiting a place with a great mountain view, fresh air, and refreshing mind. Imagine visiting a place full of cultures, diversity, and religion. This is what Puncak Kahyangan is like. In a visit to Puncak Kahyangan amazing views would be seen. A place brimming with religion and cultures can be seen too. As the cloud slowly glide across beautiful sky, the warm rays of the sun allowed to gloriously shine through the tops of the trees, creating a breathtaking sight. Identical to a perfectly painted landscape, Puncak Kahyangan is a beautiful place to visit. It located in Seulimum, Aceh Besar, Village of Keunaloi, 80 KM from Banda Aceh. It is a hill that we climb up to reach the top. The hill is not too high, around 500 feet.

When one arrived in Keunaloi, the traditions could surprise them. Around Puncak Kahyangan, Keunaloi citizen express their life togetherness. The exactly thing that might be surprise is the history of Puncak Kahyangan itself. Why people there call this hill as “Puncak Kahyangan” is because once you get to the top, someone will see the sky beautifully. It’s like; refresh our mind from all crowded things in the town. Someone will feel that they close enough to the sky, to the place of nymph. That is why this hill called Puncak Kahyangan.

The society made some groundbreaking with doing some traditions together. Cause every year, like Asyura day, they implement ancestral traditions from generations to generation that is feast; Khanduri Weuh and Khanduri Gle. These two kind of feast mean that this feast to commemorate and thanks to God because of the mercy they lived with all wealth in the mountain. To celebrate this event, they usually cook Kuah Beulangong which means cooked in a large pot and also Si Manok Gampong. They did all these things together; all people in Keunaloi will climb the hill and arrange everything there.

On the top, there is a graveyard of a scholar. They believed this scholar is a missionary in the past. It was a story, this scholar that the people believe died in this top. He was a great Ulama, he helped lots people to get into Islam. Before they started the event, they will pray first. That was the first thing that they do to have blessed from the scholar because making some noise around his house (grave). The best things are, although in this modern era, they still believe in religious, their religion is very deep. And they also have time to carry out religious matters and never forget to clean scholar’s grave.

What can you get from here? It should be the views. It is not the same as another hill, why? Cause the hill is not difficult to climb. When you get tired will all cities’ things, someone can visit this place. On the top, a full downhill with the cities view, you can see Aceh Besar ther. The journey from Banda Aceh towards Seulimum with distances about 80km. On the way to Seulimum, we passed Jantho or another alternative way which is main way of Seulimum through river and arrived in a village named Keunaloi. Here we can straight to Puncak Kahyangan. To get into the hill, there are two ways to reach the top. Some people walked up through forest and some people tried to past the river. But it’s okay for you who strong enough to climb with motorcycle, it’s not forbidden. Many people from keunaloi went to Puncak Kahyangan with motorcycle.