One of the villages in Gunung Kidul which has a unique tourism destination that has independently developed its tourism object is Girisuko Village. This village was a production forest area. Girisuko Village is the village that got benefits from Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund in 2016. That association grant funding to be used for creating and developing forest area, spatial arrangement of the village, and government policy related to envinronmental conservation. This village became tourism village by developing Watu Payung Turunan tourism object in Turunan, Girisuko Village, Panggang, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta.
This tourism object presents the natural landscape views of Oya river, the green teak trees and the view of spacious rice field. In the morning, when it is sunny, we can see a beautiful golden sunrise and also feel the resfreshing morning air. This morning view is very special because we can also see the view of mountain surrounded slight haze that will give us the sensation of standing on the sea of the clouds. At the crack of the dawn, the beauty of the nature won’t be loose. We can enjoy the sunset and feel gentle breeze that could release our tiredness.
For those who love to rush your adrenaline, you can try tracking activities on the abruptly treeline where you can discover the incredible view of the nature. One that makes the tourism object in Girisuko village becoming more famous is the existence of the unique and instagenic photo spots. You should not miss to take a photo when you are. The most popular photo spot is Hasta Apsari’s Spot.
The process that could develop Watu Turunan tourism spot is worked by villager through the Community Forest Farmer (KTHKm). They started pioneering this geopark area in 2010 because most of the local people worked as farme and the villagers want to have another source of income. On the other hand, there has been a change in the function of forests from production forests to protected forests. Then they realized that the Girisuko Village area actually has potential tourism attraction that could be developed. KTHKm Girisuko Village then began to manage those potential attractions. They started to build tourist facilities, to create tour packages, and aggressively get patners or contributors that could join them. After a long struggle, their efforts had been paid. Watu Payung Turunan tourism object received recognition of UNESCO as one of UNESCO Global Geopark networks and this place is now becoming the destination for the tourists of various regions.
The history of the name of Watu Turunan was inspired by local community belief regarding the Islam arrival history in Demak Kingdom. The story told that the son of Raden Patah migrated to Panggang area and married later the daughter of Turunan village’s elder namely Ki Dolog. Raden Patah’s son had often meditated in this area until one day he was thirsty and tried to look for a spring under big rock for a long time. From that stone Putra Raden Patah found spring that now is becoming the tourism icon where the people believe that hopefully this stone could protect Girisuko local people.
Currently the facilities in Watu Payung Turunan tourism object are quite complete. There are toilet, spacious parking area, food court area, mushola, and gazebos to relax. The recommended time to come here is during the dry season because it will be clear and the view will be more beautiful from the top of the hilly area.
