Dusun Semilir Eco Park
A ground agent's honest review after bringing 200+ visitors to Semarang's hidden gem over five years
How I Discovered This Place
My first visit to Dusun Semilir was in March 2019. At that time, the park had been open for less than a year, and almost no one in China knew about it.
I've been working as a ground agent in Semarang since 2015, mainly receiving tour groups and independent travelers from China coming to Indonesia. Central Java isn't considered a hot destination — most Chinese tourists going to Indonesia head to Bali. But Semarang has the Sam Poo Kong Temple, a relic from Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas, and every year there are some visitors who come specifically to see this.
Before 2019, there weren't many attractions around Semarang that I could take clients to. Sam Poo Kong Temple takes half a day, Lawang Sewu old train station takes an hour, the Sam Poo Kong temple takes another hour. All together that's just one day's itinerary. Clients often asked what else there was to see, and I couldn't come up with an answer.
Dusun Semilir officially opened in December 2018. I saw the news in a local tourism chat group at the time, saying a new eco park covering over 20 hectares had opened near Semarang. I didn't pay much attention — Indonesia is full of small parks like this, and most are poorly made. Taking clients there would easily lead to complaints.
The Visit That Changed Everything
In March 2019, a client came to Semarang — a family of three with an 8-year-old child. The kid wasn't interested in temples and old buildings, and the second day's itinerary was empty. I decided on the spot to check out Dusun Semilir.
The park is in Bawen, about a 40-minute drive from Semarang city center. It's located at the foot of Mount Ungaran, at about 500 meters elevation, much cooler than the city. When Semarang city center is 35°C during the day, it's only about 28°C here.
What I found inside was different from what I had imagined. Many parks in Indonesia have maintenance issues — they look okay when they open, but half a year later the lawns aren't trimmed, facilities are rusty, and trash is everywhere. Dusun Semilir's sanitation management was clearly more professional — the paths were clean, the lawns were maintained, and there was a trash bin every 50 meters.
That 8-year-old played the entire day. Fed rabbits, went boating, ran around on the lawn. That night on the way back, his mom asked if they could come again tomorrow. I said yes. In the end, they stayed in Semarang for four days, and two of those days were spent at this park.
After this experience, I started seriously researching this place.
About the Park
Dusun Semilir was built with private investment. The owner is a local person — I didn't inquire about the specific background. I don't know how much it cost to develop this land, but judging from the scale of the park and the quality of construction, the investment must have been at least 500 billion Indonesian Rupiah, equivalent to over 20 million Chinese Yuan.
The entry ticket was 35,000 Indonesian Rupiah in 2019, about 17 Yuan RMB. Now it's gone up to 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah, around 23 Yuan RMB. Compared to theme parks in China, this price is very low.
The park's theme is a traditional Javanese village. After entering, there's a long corridor with local specialty shops and restaurants on both sides. The architectural style is traditional Javanese wooden structures. Further in, there's a lawn with an artificial lake in the middle, where you can rent pedal boats. Going up further are various themed areas: a children's play area, an animal area, and several photo spots.
How the Park Has Evolved
My Experience & Feedback
Over these years, I've brought about 200+ people to Dusun Semilir. The feedback has been generally positive. The most common complaint is that the park is too big and tiring to walk around. There are electric carts in the park, but not many, and you have to queue during peak season.
For my Semarang itineraries now, as long as clients have more than one day, I recommend this place. The actual conversion rate is about 60% — the remaining 40% of clients aren't interested in this type of eco park.
I personally think this park is the most worthwhile place to visit around Semarang. Not because it's particularly stunning, but because it's well-run, clean, reasonably priced, and won't disappoint.
After years of working in tourism in Indonesia, there aren't many places I can confidently recommend to clients. This is one of them.
If you want to go, just search "Dusun Semilir Eco Park" — it's on Google Maps with accurate location. Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions.