Loko Tour - Jember, East Java

Semboro Sugar Factory, 35 km west of Jember, was built during the Dutch colonial period by Handles Vereniging Amsterdam (a Dutch private company) in 1921 with 2103 hectares of sugar cane fields which spread out in the western and the northern part of Jember. In the Japanese colonial period, sugar producing activities stopped and it was changed to a soda factory to fulfill the needs of the Japanese government. A few years after Indonesian Independence Day, in 1949, it became an ammunition factory to provide supplies for the Indonesian freedom fighters against the colonialists seeking to reoccupy Indonesia. From 1950 to 1957 the milling activities began producing sugar which was already taken over by the Indonesian government. Due to its demands since 1978, the Semboro Sugar Factory has tried to increase its production from 24.000 kw to 54.000 kw per day. Foreign visitors can take a nostalgic tour by steam locomotive for 2 hours and can enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. Semboro Sugar Factory is about 120 minutes from the center of Jember and visitors can hire a car to reach this destination.