Cipanas Palace, Presidential palace in Cipanas, Indonesia

Cipanas Palace is a white, single-storey presidential residence at the foot of Mount Gede, about 1,100 metres above sea level. Its main building, Gedung Induk, covers 982 square metres and has a wide low-pitched grey roof, a projecting portico of plain white columns on a low stone base, and an openwork gable with a central crest. Six pavilions stand in the backyard around the main building, within a 26-hectare compound.

A Dutch landowner commissioned the estate in 1740 as a mountain retreat while the area fell under the administration of the governor general. The Republic of Indonesia took over the compound after independence and converted it into one of the official residences for the president.

The pavilion names Bima, Arjuna and Yudhistira come from the Hindu epic Mahabharata; President Sukarno chose them after independence. The name Cipanas is Sundanese for "hot water", after the sulfurous spring inside the complex. The main hallway holds Soejono DS's 1958 painting Jalanan Seribu Pandang, whose eyes seem to follow viewers from any angle.

The residence sits at over one thousand meters elevation and is reachable from the capital in about two hours by car via the road toward Bandung. Visitors should note that access is limited as the grounds are used for official government purposes.

Natural hot springs emerge on the grounds, with mineral-rich water that attracted visitors during Dutch colonial times. The thermal sources remain part of the estate and add to the cooler mountain climate of the surroundings.