Bondowoso Regency is a regency in East Java, Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,525.97 km2, and had a population of 736,772 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate is 757,468. The most common languages are Madurese and Javanese, although Madurese is the majority. The nearest large city is Surabaya, approximately five hours' drive away. The administrative centre of the regency is the small provincial town of Bondowoso, after which the regency in named. Common in most provincial towns is a park in the city center, called "Alun-Alun"; Bondowoso is no exception. In the backdrop of the park is a view of a mountain. Tourist spots include Kawah Ijen, a crater lake. Kawah Ijen is managed jointly by two local governments, Bondowoso Regency and Banyuwangi Regency. In addition to the crater, other tourist destinations in Bondowoso are Tancak Kembar in Pakem and Air Terjun Belawan Sempol. A hike or climb to the crater takes around 1.5 to 3 hours. Other spots are Gunung Merapi and waterfalls. Bondowoso town is known for its dessert, "tape", to the extent that it is named "Tape city". Tape is tapioca with a kind of flour added that acts as a preservative. Medium-sized slices of tape are wrapped in banana leaves and kept in a light container for five days to be fermented prior to being consumed. There is an Arabic community living in the area for some time, since before the Dutch occupation. They live in a place called "Kampung Arab" on Imam Bonjol Street.
Megalithic artifacts
There are more than 1000 megalithic artifacts found in the villages around Bondowoso, such as menhirs, sarcophagi, statues, dolmens and caves. A common megalith type found in Indonesia is the batu kenong with a shape resembling a localmusical instrument. The Bondowoso Regency contains up to 400 batu kenong, the highest concentration in Indonesia. An easily accessible location with a wide variety of megaliths is the Pekauman Site at kilometer 8 on the Jember-Bondowoso road.
Climate
Bondowoso has 79-100% of humidity. The maximum humidity is 100% and the average humidity is 89%. The wind velocity of Bondowoso is within the range of 0–7 km/hr. The maximum wind velocity is 7 km/hr and the average is 4 km/hr. The temperature of this City is within the range of 17.0 °C-32.3 °C with the average temperature is 24.7 °C.
