Cepu

Cepu is a district in Central Java, Indonesia.

Understand
Cepu is a small town on the eastern border of Central Java province.

In its heyday it was a centre for the logging of the abundant teak plantations on the nearby range of low limestone hills. Those forests have been seriously overlogged and the industry is now in decline, but the steam locomotives that were used to haul the logs are somewhat preserved in a museum in the town.

Thanks to natural seeping of oil onto the surface of the ground, the town was also a pioneer in the development of Indonesia's oil industry. Though production has now spread across the archipelago, Cepu still maintains some important facilities, including a refinery and the country's main oil and gas industry training centre.

By train
The main Semarang to Surabaya train line passes through Cepu.

Get around
You may rent a car or motorbike in downtown of Cepu.

Buy
The take-home snack of choice is 'egg rolls', delicate wafer biscuits rolled up into a tube. Quite delicious.

The supply of timber has generated a small industry creating wooden crafts, carved statuettes of motorbikes and the likes. Items tend to be coloured with a heavy stain, and finished with a high gloss varnish.

On the road south towards Ngawi, there is an industry of digging up the roots of felled teak trees, and making them into tables and other furniture.

Drink
Kopi kothok, coffee and sugar boiled in a hot water. It is very common in Cepu.

Sleep
Thanks to the oil and gas training centre, the accommodation options in Cepu punch way above their weight for a small town. Most notably:

Connect
The dialing code for Cepu is 0297.

Go next

 * Blora
 * Bojonegoro
 * Ngawi