Gunung Kidul Regency


Gunůngkidůl is a regency located in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The administrative centre is the town of Wonosari. The name "Gunungkidul" comes from the Javanese language mountains in the south of Java Land, whose area is located in the Thousands Mountains range of the province.
The Regency covers an area of 1,475.15 km2, about 46.5% of the provincial area. It had a population of 675,382 at the 2010 Census and 747,161 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 751,011 - with 371,220 males and 379,800 females - and so the population density in this regency is relatively low compared to other regencies of the province.
This regency is bordered by Klaten Regency and Sukoharjo Regency in the north and northeast, Wonogiri Regency in the east, the Indian Ocean in the south, and Bantul Regency and Sleman Regency in the west and northwest. Gunungkidul Regency has 18 Districts. Most of the regency is hills and limestone mountains, which are part of the Thousand Mountains. Gunungkidul is known as a relatively barren area and often experiences drought in the dry season, but it has a unique historical feature, in addition to its tourism, cultural and culinary potential.
The traditional dishes from Gunůngkidůl include "Gathot" and "Thiwul", made from fermented cassava and dry cassava.
Its southern coast has several beaches: Baron, Kukup, Krakal, Drini, Sepanjang, Sundak, Siung, Wediombo, Jungwok, Greweng, Sedahan and Sadeng. Some of these provide fish and other sea products supplied by local fisherman. The most notable is Baron Beach, which has an adjacent park surrounded by seafood restaurants and hostels. There is a fresh fish market on the east side of the beach. On the west side, a river flows from an almost sea-level cave on the side of the western ridge. The beach itself is khaki-colored and is used to land traditional fishing boats. There is also a kilometer of white sandy beach beyond its eastern ridge, reachable by a small hike.

Geography

As the name implies, Gunungkidul Regency is dominated by mountains which are the western part of the Sewu Mountains or the South Limestone Mountains, which stretches across the southern part of Java Island starting from the area eastward to Tulungagung Regency.
The Mountains are formed from limestone, indicating that in the past it was a seabed. The findings of ancient marine animal fossils support this assumption. This area began to become land as a result of tectonic and volcanic uplifts since the Miocene.
Gunungkidul Regency is one of the regencies in the Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Special Province, with Wonosari as the capital city. The total area of Gunungkidul Regency is 1,475.15 km2 or about 46.5% of the total area of the Special Province of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. The city of Wonosari is located southeast of the Yogyakarta City, with a distance of ± 39 km. The Gunungkidul Regency area is divided into 18 Districts and 144 villages.

Administrative districts

Gunungkidul Regency is divided into eighteen administrative districts, tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages within each district, and its post codes.
Kode
Wilayah		Name of
District
Area
in
km2		Pop'n
Census
2010		Pop'n
Census
2020		Pop'n
Estimate
mid 2023		Admin
centre		No.
of
villages		Post
code
34.03.06Panggang
ꦥꦁꦒꦁ		99.8026,50928,95129,121Giriharjo855872
34.03.18Purwosari
ꦥꦸꦂꦮꦱꦫꦶ		71.7619,36120,65520,793Giritirto555873
34.03.05Paliyan
ꦥꦭꦶꦪꦤ꧀		58.0729,08332,01732,181Karangduwet755871
34.03.15Saptosari
ꦱꦥ꧀ꦠꦱꦫꦶ		87.8334,27038,32338,500Kepek755870
34.03.07Tepus
ꦠꦼꦥꦸꦱ꧀		104.9131,88935,25135,296Sidoharjo555882
34.03.17Tanjungsari
ꦠꦚ꧀ꦗꦸꦁꦱꦫꦶ		71.6325,69828,17828,323Kemiri555881
34.03.11Rongkop
ꦫꦺꦴꦁꦏꦺꦴꦥ꧀		83.4626,90128,61028,724Semugih855884
34.03.16Girisubo
ꦒꦶꦫꦶꦱꦸꦧ		94.5722,18824,49024,589Jerukwudel855883
34.03.08Semanu
ꦱꦼꦩꦤꦸ		108.3951,73758,15558,697Semanu555893
34.03.10Ponjong
ꦥꦺꦴꦚ꧀ꦗꦺꦴꦁ		104.4949,80354,48754,769Ponjong1155892
34.03.09Karangmojo
ꦏꦫꦁꦩꦗ		80.1248,76855,41955,935Gedangrejo955891
34.03.01Wonosari
ꦮꦤꦱꦫꦶ		75.5178,74787,45487,684Kepek1455851
34.03.03Playen
ꦥ꧀ꦭꦪꦺꦤ꧀		105.2654,49260,62260,811Ngawu1355861
34.03.04Patuk
ꦥꦛꦸꦏ꧀		72.0430,33634,15634,382Patuk1155862
34.03.14Gedangsari
ꦒꦼꦣꦁꦱꦫꦶ		68.1435,26538,38938,567Hargomulyo755863
34.03.02Nglipar
ꦔ꧀ꦭꦶꦥꦂ		73.8729,68732,76432,790Nglipar755852
34.03.13Ngawen
ꦔꦮꦺꦤ꧀		46.5931,62233,90834,111Kampung655853
34.03.12Semin
ꦱꦼꦩꦶꦤ꧀		78.9249,02655,33255,737Semin1055854
Totals1,475.15675,382747,161751,011Wonosari144

Note: except the villages of Baleharjo and Kepek.

General condition

Geography

Gunungkidul Regency is in a karst region. This leads to difficult geography for farmers and contributes to considerable poverty in the area because of water shortages. Much of the Regency is included in the Mount Sewu collection of limestone hills which stretches across parts of southern Java from parts of Kebumen Regency in the west near the border with West Java across to close to the city of Malang in East Java. The Menoreh Hills in the area south of Yogyakarta in Kulonprogo Regency, for example, are part of this series of limestone hills.

Caves

The limestone hills are reported to contain hundreds of caves. These are classified locally as vertical luweng and horizontal caves. Jomblang Cave and Kalisuci Cave '' located in the Semanu District in Gunungkidul Regency, as well as other caves in the area, are well-known to local caving groups. Some of the caves are quite long; Cerme cave, for example, has an entrance in Bantul Regency and stretches for quite a distance eastward into Panggang subdistrict in Gunungkidul Regency.

Prehistory

From archaeological findings, the area of Gunungkidul Regency is thought to have been inhabited by humans from 700,000 years ago. Many find the instructions of human existence found in caves and niches in karst of Gunungkidul, especially in Ponjong District. The human propensity Gunung occupy the time it caused most of the lowland in Yogyakarta is still flooded. The arrival of the first humans in Gunungkidul occurred at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. At that time, the human race Australoid migrated from the Pegunungan Sewu in Pacitan, East Java passing Wonogiri karst valleys, Central Java until it reaches the southern coast of Gunungkidul through ancient, Bengawan Solo.

Borderline

Gunungkidul Regency is located in the limestone uplands of Java, and a delicacy called walang goreng.

Topography

North Zone

The northern zone is called Agung Batur region, with an altitude of 200–700 m above sea level. The situation is hilly, there are sources of groundwater depth of 6m - 12m from the ground. Latosol soil types dominated by volcanic and sedimentary parent hurricane stones. This area includes the districts of Patuk, Gedangsari, Nglipar, Ngawen, Semin, and the northern part of the district of Ponjong.

Central Zone

The Central Zone is called Ledok Wonosari development, with an altitude of 150–200 m above sea level. The soil type is dominated by Mediterranean association with the red and black grumusol limestone. So despite its long dry season, the water particles are still able to survive. There is a river on the land. Groundwater depth ranges between 60–120 m below the ground surface. This area includes the districts of Playen, Wonosari, Karangmojo and Ponjong, and the central and northern parts of Semanu.

South Zone

The Southern Zone is called Pegunungan Sewu development area, with an altitude of 0–300 m above sea level. Constituent bedrock is limestone with characteristic conical hills and the karst area. Underground rivers are often found in this region. The southern zone includes the districts of Saptosari, Paliyan, Girisubo, Tanjungsari, Tepus, Rongkop, Purwosari and Panggang, and the southern parts of Ponjong and Semanu.