568 GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES IX MALAYSIA AND ASIA, 



and is an active crater, but of much smaller dimensions on its 

 summit than any hitherto described in Java. To the N.N.E. is 

 Mount Arjuno, another crater with a peaked and conical form 

 about 10,000 feet high. 



The ruins of Singosari have been described with much detail by 

 Sir Stamford Raffles and by several observers. They are of 

 evidently Hindoo origin, and lie in the midst of a jungle in an 

 exceedingly picturesque locality, with mountains and the signs of 

 tropical luxuriance all around. The frequent visits of sight- 

 seers are gradually changing the aspect of the valley where the 

 ruins are found ; and in any case the coffee and quiuine planta- 

 tions on the slopes of Mount Tengger have brought so much 

 population and civilisation into the neighbourhood that it is as 

 well thronged as any in Java. I made a special visit to the 

 ancient temples, and I extract the following account from a part 

 of " A Journey through Java," published in the Sydney Morning 

 Herald at the time : — 



Malang. — The railway ride to Malang is picturesque as well as 

 most interesting. The ascent is along the slopes of the active crater 

 of Mount Arjuno, called after the hallowed name of a hero famous 

 in Javanese poesy. In the Hindoo poem of Mahabarat he stands 

 pre-eminent as one of the five sons of Pandu, well known in all 

 the legends of the Javanese. The mountain is one of the highest 

 in Java, being 11,500 feet above the sea. Its sharp conical outline 

 stood clearly out against the sky, while the cloud of smoke which 

 capped it was glowing red in the .sunset. This bounded our view 

 on the north. To the south was the rugged extinct crater of Kawi, 

 nearly 9,000 feet high. Every inch of the ground was under 

 cultivation. The sides of the steep gullies were terraced with 

 consummate care, and the water allowed to trickle and spread 

 over bright-coloured rice-fields. The slopes were clothed with 

 sirih, indigo, and cassava, and the ridges regularly planted with 

 teak trees. The view across the plains towards the sea revealed a 

 similar state of cultivation all over the land. Everything seemed 

 smiling with fertility j the rice-fields especially giving a vivid 

 green aspect to the distance which was charming. 



