The Wonder of Tugu Khatulistiwa in Pontianak

As an equatorial city, one cannot miss the Equator Monument when visiting Pontianak. The equator, or khatulistiwa in local tongue, is the imaginary line on the spheroid, equidistant from its poles, dividing it into northern and southern hemispheres. Located on Jalan Khatulistiwa, it takes 30 minutes to reach there from the city center. This monument was built in 1928 by the Expedition Team led by a Dutch geographer in the form of a stake and an arrow. Then in 1990, the Equator Monument was renovated by adding a dome to protect the original monument and creating a duplicate monument five times larger than the original.

Entering inside of the Equator Monument, visitors will see lots of photographs displayed on the walls of the building telling the history of the monument. If you need more information, the guides there will be very happy to recount detailed story behind the pictures. After being renovated, the monument building offers spots for tourist to take artistic photographs. On leaving the building, the visitors can get a certificate of appreciation from the Municipal Government.

Apart from that, the visitors can enjoy outdoor activities presenting the “natural miracles” of the equator line. Twice a year, the sun reaches its zenith on the Vernal Equinox (March 21st-23rd) and the Autumnal Equinox (September 21st-23rd). These bi-annual events are commemorated as the Municipal Government will hold festivals in order to enliven and introduce the local uniqueness. On these days, known also as culmination days, visitors and locals enjoy a five-minute shadow-less moment in the best ‘hot spot’ of Borneo. Visitors may as well take some time to try to make an egg stand vertically. This can only happen due to the strong force of gravity around the monument and this force will get stronger on the culmination days.

Another miraculous experience one can enjoy at the Equator Monument is playing the direction of the water rotation. In the northern latitude, the direction of rotation of the water is clockwise, while in the south it is counterclockwise. Try place a bucket of water in the northern latitude (just one step away from the equatorial line), then stir the water with a stick tightly. When the water still in motion, then put a match stick in the water and you will find the match rotates clockwise. Let’s go to the southern side (just two steps to the south) and the match will rotate counter-clockwise.

Being one of the tourist spots with miraculous phenomena, choosing to visit this monument when in Pontianak is a no-brainer. Come and have a wonderful vacation in the capital city of West Kalimantan.