If you live or work around Jakarta, have you ever felt randomly overwhelmed, sluggish, or just fallen into a bad mood for no reason? You could easily blame the hectic workdays, endless crowds, and traffic jams. I think all of them are just ordinary problems in the capital city. But have you ever wondered if air quality also affects our mood?

I never thought how significant that problem was until I went through the unplanned trekking to Paniisan Hill, suddenly after working overtime till midnight without proper sleep.

The Midnight Call for Adventure

Illustration | Created with AI

In the middle of Saturday night, while watching the online maintenance process of my office, my friends invited me to join the short walk to Paniisan Hill. That hill is located in Sentul Bogor, about 2-3 hours from my place. So, it felt like a doable plan since my friend also provided the transportation. There's no other problem except sacrificing precious weekend sleep because we planned to start early on Sunday morning.

After a blink of sleep, my alarm rang, and suddenly, I headed to the meeting point. Long story short, we arrived at the destination a bit late, missing the golden hour of sunrise. Surprisingly, the parking area was still spacious, although it was the weekend.

Parking Area | © Author

The Unexpected Challenge

Actually, there are several routes to reach the hill. We decided to take a route via Wangun because it's frequently mentioned when you googling about that hill. There's no formal registration point or entrance ticket that we found, maybe because the track isn't too extreme, and it's just a hill. If you're unsure where to start, just ask the locals. I also forgot it since we just followed a group of trail runners who seemed to know their way.

But as you know, following those trail runners wasn't the most brilliant move. The track they took was steeper and more challenging than we expected, especially for the one who hadn't slept well. I'm pretty sure there's a more manageable (but longer) beginner-friendly route. At some point, we decided to rest and take a deep breath. Luckily, my friend also brought Choki-Choki for us as an instant energy boost.

Break after steep Trek | © Author's friend

After that steep section, the rest of the trek was quite manageable. The junctions are well-marked with signs, so don't worry about getting lost or hungry & trusty because you will also find several warung (small stalls) here.

The rest of the trek | © Author

Stall a.k.a Warung | © Author

Trek direction | © Author

Nature Vibes and Photo Spots

The vegetation here is quite lush and dense, similar to other destinations that I've visited around West Java. If you plan to take photos, prepare for an in-forest concept with many greenery trees instead of wide-open views like the scenery around East Java.

Vegetation | © Author

At the top of the hill, it was hot, dusty and crowded. Maybe because it was at midday and there was a motocross event. Of course, the most enjoyable moment for me wasn't here but the journey in the middle of the track, under the dense foliage, because I could feel the highly refreshing breath there. The only satisfying thing we did on top of the hill was order fresh coconut with complete rice menus & noodles for lunchtime and eat it with joyful conversation.

Summit | © Author's friend

Enjoying lunch | © Author's friend

There are many spots for you to hunt the photo shoot here, but for me, the spots are too synthetic and have lost their natural feelings. However, I spent my time just throwing my sight dangling around and helping my friends capture photos for them.

Conclusion

If you were born or lived as a child in a village, you would miss the fresh air, the clear blue sky, and other things that generally happen in non capital cities. Yeah, it's all about the air quality as explained by the research below

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022002112

I came from Bandung City before I moved to Jakarta for work, but I was born & grew up as a child in Bali. The fog, fresh air, and blue sky are my best friends who always entertain me if I have a bad day and bring my good mood back again.

If you are tired on the weekend due to work or even for no reason, don't just lie on the bed. Grab your transportation (or your friends that have transportation 😆). Then, heading to the hill around Sentul for fresh air. I'm sure you will fully recharge your mood battery. Please be careful when choosing the road route because the traffic jams are worse in certain areas near Sentul. The starter pack you need is simple: just a tiny bottle of water, a small raincoat, and sunscreen. Then you are ready to go for trekking up there.