Ranu Pani or Ranupani is a tourist attraction in the form of a lake in Ranu Pani Village, Senduro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java. Ranu Pani is part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. Initially, the area of Ranu Pani was around one hectare, but now it is estimated to be only 0.75 hectares due to the rapid sedimentation rate. The population of Ranu Pani is around 2,000 people.
History
In the beginning the area which is currently village of Ranupani was land managed by one of the Dutch families during the colonial period. The management of land in Java to European families was very common at that time, as was the management of part of the land in the Iyang-Argopuro Plateau by the Ledeboer family in 1916. Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945 caused the exodus of the Dutch in various parts of the country and the release of assets to the Republican government Indonesia. As time goes by, many immigrants from various regions live in the village. At present, Ranupani Village has two hamlets, namely Gedokasu and Besaran, and is one of the enclave villages within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park area. The residential area of Ranupani is surrounded by a stretch of agricultural land, which includes, among others, Scales in the North, Amprong in the West, Rondo Kuning in East, Suropotong in the Northeast, Reserves in the South and Dempok in the Southwest. Daerah Besaran consists of 3 Rukun Tetangga, while the GedokAsu area consists of 4 Neighborhood Groups. In 1999, Desa Ranupani was separated by the Government of Lumajang Regency from the main village of Argosari with definitive village preparation status.
Geography
Climate
In Ranu Pani, the climate is warm and temperate. During summer, which extend from November to March, large rainfall amounts are recorded. Winter, from June to September, is relatively dry with temperature often below zero Celsius at night. Frost is then frequent but light snow is very rarely observed. According to Köppen and Geiger, this climate is classified as subtropical highland variety. The temperature average is 13.1 °C and the annual rainfall is 1918 mm.
Tourism
Ranu Pani is legal start and easiest route point for hikers to Mount Semeru. Ranu Pani is the last village before hiking to Mount Semeru. The village is inhabited by residents of the Tengger tribe and is located at an altitude of 2,100 meters above sea level. Annually, residents in the village always hold clean village and unan-unan rituals led by traditional shamans. The villagers of Ranu Pani as the Tengger Tribe, are native descendants of Javanese people who lived in the era of the Majapahit Empire. Some villagers work as climbing guides for Mount Semeru otherwise known as porters. Porter provides goods carrier services as well as an introduction to climbers to the top of the mountain. This porter profession is often also a hereditary job. All porters of Mount Semeru are joined and coordinated in a community. Climbers who will go to Mount Semeru will pass through two lakes around Ranu Pani, namely Ranu Regulo located in the villages of Ranu Pani, and Ranu Kumbolo which is located on the upper slope about 5 hours hike from Ranu Pani.
Conservation
activities are considered as one of the broader narrowing factors of Ranu Pani, the opening of hills as agricultural land causes erosion. The function of large trees to resist soil erosion cannot be replaced by agricultural crops. In addition, the large number of climbers and visitors who throw litter, resulting in the accumulation of various types of waste and resulting in decreasing the depth of the lake. Even a few times hikers often burn their trash. Previously in 1998 the depth of Lake Ranu Pani reached 12 meters, in 2013 the lake became increasingly shallow in the middle of the lake, reaching only 7 meters deep. Efforts to clean wild plants around Ranu Pani are considered ineffective, so an environmental improvement program is carried out around the lake and planting a living fence on the lake's borders with settlement to reduce sedimentation and the entry of garbage into the lake. Since 2010, TNBTS has collaborated with University of Brawijaya and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to try to restore the function of the lake as before.
