Climate
The Batu area is at 800 to 1,100 metres so it is pleasantly cool here compared to lowland East Java. Typical day time temperatures are 17 to 20 °C. Night-time temperatures on the high peaks at 3,000m+ are regularly as low as 3 to 4 °C.
Understand
The cool, fresh hill town of Batu was a retreat for the Dutch in colonial days. Similarly, these days wealthy local business people from Surabaya and Malang have weekend houses up here whilst the less fortunate visit on a more casual basis. The area is also a major agricultural centre with apple orchards everywhere and a large number of orchid nurseries.
Until 2001, Batu was administratively part of Malang but since that time it has been a municipal town in its own right.
Batu and the nearby town of Selecta specifically constructed as a tourism venue in 1928 sit on the slopes of Mount Welirang and Mount Arjuna Gunung Welirang, Gunung Arjuna about 20 km to the west of Malang. Batu, Selecta and the surrounding villages make for a charming place with much that will appeal to visitors and a couple of days exploring this beautiful area is a worthy part of any visit to Java.