Timang Beach Gondola. Image by Pandora Voon.
As early as 250BC, ropeways have been used to transport people and goods across difficult terrain. Even today, as many parts of the world are rapidly modernizing, some places are still reliant on simple cable systems.
In the Yogyakarta region of Indonesia, locals have strung together a rather precarious-looking cable car over the treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean. According to some online user comments, the Timang Beach Gondola was built in 1997 and was primarily used in the past to ferry lobster fisherman from the coast to a lobster nest on Pulau Timang, a small rocky outcrop 100m from the mainland.
However, with the advent of mass tourism, locals discovered that international visitors are willing to dish out a whole lot of dough to experience this one-of-a-kind gondola. If you watch the video above, it quickly becomes apparent why the chance to share your “dangerous” ropeway experience on social media (especially Instagram) makes it nearly impossible for millennial travellers to resist.
While the wooden, blue-roped gondola is a rudimentary piece of equipment, the operators appear to be experts when it comes to fare pricing. Believe it or not, the 30 second ride costs US$10.30 for locals and US$13.70 for international tourists!
With this ticket price, the Timang Beach Gondola is certainly not an inexpensive attraction — even by global standards. Given the short duration of the ride, it might even be the most expensive gondola on a per second ratio.
The Timang Beach Gondola costs about $0.23/second, making it more expensive than some of the world’s most advanced ropeways. Chart by CUP.
The open-air double decker cable car (CabriO) in Switzerland costs 3 cents less per second to ride than the Timang Beach Gondola. However, the overall ticket price is more expensive (US$74.50). Image by Alpohi.
It’s hard to imagine that a relatively remote part of Indonesia would be home to one of the world’s most expensive ropeways. But then again, given the physical manpower that’s actually involved to pull riders over, maybe the ride is a bargain after all.