Pangandaran
Pangandaran is a small town and a subdistrict in southern Ciamis regency, West Java, Indonesia. It is located on the southern coast of Java. Pangandaran is a popular tourist destination, having a beach which is considered to be one of the finest in Java and which offers excellent surfing.
A kite-flying festival is held on the beach in July and August. It is reported that the locals used to fly kites in the evenings to catch bats,[1] and may still do so. [2] There is a local belief that wearing any green garment in this area will anger Loro Kidul, the Javanese guardian spirit or goddess of the southern sea, and will bring misfortune.
The small national park of Penanjung Pangandaran is nearby on a peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land. About eighty percent of the park is secondary rainforest. The flora of the park includes the Rafflesia.
A tsunami hit the area on 17 July 2006. An undersea earthquake measured at 7.7 on the Richter scale triggered a three metre high tidal wave. Extensive damage was caused and hundreds of people were reported to be dead or missing.