Current Time in Jember, Indonesia

Jember lies in the eastern part of Java, the most populous island of Indonesia, in a broad basin between volcanic mountains and the Indian Ocean. Mount Argopuro rises to the north and the peaks of Raung and Semeru stand within view, while to the south a coastline of cliffs, white sand and dense forest faces the open sea. The equatorial climate is warm throughout the year, with heavy rain from November to April and a drier, breezier season in the middle of the year.

The town has a population of around three hundred and thirty thousand, and the regency it governs holds close to two and a half million people, making it one of the largest in East Java. Its wealth comes from the extraordinarily fertile volcanic soil, and Jember is above all a plantation district, producing tobacco, coffee, cocoa, rubber, sugar and rice.

Tobacco has defined the region for well over a century. Dutch planters established estates here in the 1850s, and the shade grown leaf produced in the Jember area proved ideal as wrapper for cigars. It was shipped in large quantities to Bremen and Amsterdam and is still exported to Europe today, one of the few Indonesian agricultural products with such a long unbroken trade relationship. Great drying barns with slatted walls stand among the fields, and the industry gave the town its early prosperity, its rail connection and its mixed population.

That population is itself distinctive. Javanese and Madurese communities settled here in roughly equal numbers to work the estates, and over generations they blended into a culture known as Pandhalungan, with its own dialect, music and customs that belongs entirely to this corner of Java. Traditional arts include can macanan kaduk, a lion like masked dance performed with vigorous drumming.

Jember is best known internationally for a spectacular modern invention, the carnival first staged in 2003 in which local people parade along the main avenue in enormous, elaborately constructed costumes of feathers, wire and fabric, turning the street into an open air catwalk. It has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in the world and has inspired similar carnivals across Indonesia.

The regency also holds outstanding natural attractions. Papuma beach, with white sand, rock stacks and shady pandanus trees, is among the most photographed spots in East Java, and neighbouring Watu Ulo takes its name from a long ridge of rock said to resemble a serpent. Further east, Meru Betiri National Park protects rainforest, and its remote Sukamade beach is a nesting site where visitors can watch green turtles come ashore at night. Inland, the hill resort of Rembangan offers cool air and views across the plantations.

The University of Jember is a large state institution, and the national research centre for coffee and cocoa is based here, giving the town scientific importance. Trains run along the main east Java line, roads connect to Surabaya and Banyuwangi, and a small airport serves the region.

Jember is notable for its plantations, its carnival and its beautiful, little visited southern coast.