Situ Patenggang (also spelled Situ Patengan) is a peaceful crater-rimmed lake about 50km southwest of Bandung, in the Rancabali tea-estate country of the Ciwidey valley. It sits at roughly 1,600 metres, so the air stays cool and the surface is usually unruffled even in the afternoons. Rowboats and paddle boats are for hire by the hour, and a small wooden bridge crosses to a tiny island near the middle of the lake. The water is dark and glassy, and on a clear morning the surrounding rows of tea bushes reflect across it.
A Sundanese legend gives the lake its name. It tells of two lovers — Ki Santang and Dewi Rengganis — who were separated and met again only after long wandering; "Patenggang" derives from a Sundanese word meaning "to look for." A heart-shaped stone on the shore, which locals call Batu Cinta, marks the supposed spot of their reunion, and couples still come to make a wish there.
The lake anchors a pleasant loop through the southern highlands. Most visitors combine it with Kawah Putih, the turquoise sulphuric crater lake fifteen minutes' drive north on the same road, and with the strawberry farms and deer meadow of Ranca Upas nearby. There are simple warungs around the shore and a glamping resort with a ship-shaped restaurant on the water if you want to linger past lunch. Go early in the day — afternoon cloud rolls in fast at this altitude, and weekends draw busloads from the city.