Tourist attraction · East Belitung Regency

BENDUNGAN PICE

East Belitung Regency, ID 4.3 (588 Google reviews)

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Bendungan Pice is a colonial-era Dutch dam and weir on the upper Lenggang River in the village of Lenggang, Gantung district, East Belitung, Bangka Belitung. Far from a big-ticket attraction, it charms visitors as a quiet piece of working heritage: a long, painted footbridge running across the water gate, a wide river panorama, and a story that goes back to the tin-dredging days of the Netherlands East Indies. Admission is free, and it draws locals and travellers alike for photography, fishing, and an unhurried late afternoon by the water.↗↗↗↗

What makes a stop here worthwhile is the combination of scenery and history. The dam was a water-level regulator for the tin dredges that worked the Lenggang, and the site sits close to East Belitung's best-known literary landmarks, so it slots easily into a half-day of Laskar Pelangi-related sights around Gantung. Come for the views and the bridge, stay for the light, and leave with a sense of how mining once reshaped this landscape.↗

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Tourist attraction · East Belitung Regency

BENDUNGAN PICE

East Belitung Regency, ID 4.3 (588 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Bendungan Pice is a colonial-era Dutch dam and weir on the upper Lenggang River in the village of Lenggang, Gantung district, East Belitung, Bangka Belitung. Far from a big-ticket attraction, it charms visitors as a quiet piece of working heritage: a long, painted footbridge running across the water gate, a wide river panorama, and a story that goes back to the tin-dredging days of the Netherlands East Indies. Admission is free, and it draws locals and travellers alike for photography, fishing, and an unhurried late afternoon by the water.↗↗↗↗

What makes a stop here worthwhile is the combination of scenery and history. The dam was a water-level regulator for the tin dredges that worked the Lenggang, and the site sits close to East Belitung's best-known literary landmarks, so it slots easily into a half-day of Laskar Pelangi-related sights around Gantung. Come for the views and the bridge, stay for the light, and leave with a sense of how mining once reshaped this landscape.↗

↗

A Dutch legacy on the Lenggang River

Bendungan Pice was a project of the colonial Dutch, with construction variously dated from the late 1920s and completed in the mid-1930s. Unlike most weirs, it was not built to irrigate rice at all. Its real job was to hold back and manage the water level of the Sungai Lenggang (Lenggang River) so that dredging vessels and bucket-dredge machinery could float and operate while excavating the tin deposits along the river—part of the infrastructure of Belitung's old tin economy.↗↗↗↗

The unusual name adds to the lore. One popular account traces "Pice" to the Dutch engineer associated with the build, a figure called "Sir Vance," whose name locals of the era couldn't quite pronounce, so it slipped into "Pice" and stuck. The site is officially listed as a heritage and historical attraction, and its story is intertwined with the tin-mining past of the region.↗↗

The old Dutch weir no longer stands alone as the main work on the river. Between 2013 and 2016 Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works built a new structure, Bendung Pice Besar, to take over regulation of the Selingsing/Lenggang system. The modern barrage is roughly 79 metres wide with a bank of electric sluice gates and spillways, providing irrigation for the Selingsing area and raw water for the Gantung water utility. The Dutch-era construction remains as a landmark of the site's origins, while the newer gates carry the actual water-management work today.↗

What to see and do

The focal point is the long water gate and the walk-on footbridge that spans it—painted in bright colours and a favourite backdrop for photos. You're allowed up onto the dam structure to take pictures, and the wide sweep of the river behind the gate makes for clean, open panoramas. Many visitors note that the reflections at sunrise and the warm light at sunset are the best moments, when anglers and families gather along the water.↗↗↗

It's a low-key, do-as-you-please sort of place rather than a ticketed park with scheduled programming. Good things to do here include simply walking the bridge and riverbank, looking at the colonial and modern engineering side by side, fishing from the water's edge for the river's freshwater species, shooting portraits and wide-angle landscapes against the dam, and settling into the gazebos and shaded seating to watch the afternoon go by. If you're interested in the historical narrative behind the structure, a local guide from the surrounding tourism village can walk you through the tin-mining story.↗↗↗

Pairing it with the Laskar Pelangi sights

Bendungan Pice sits inside Desa Wisata Lenggang, the tourism village better known as the birthplace of novelist Andrea Hirata and the real-world setting of the novel and film Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Troops). The dam shares the area with other draws on this literary route, including the nearby SD Muhammadiyah replica school and the Kata (Words) Museum of Andrea Hirata, so a single visit can mix heritage engineering with a dose of the culture that put Belitung's east coast on the map. Note that this part of the island is reclaimed former mining land and can be hot and exposed in daytime, so plan accordingly.↗↗

Getting there and visiting tips

The site is in Lenggang, Gantung district. From the town of Manggar it is a short drive of roughly 20–30 minutes, while reaching it from H. A. S. Hanandjoeddin Airport takes about an hour or more by car or motorbike on generally good access roads. Two-wheelers and cars can get to the area, and there is a sizable parking lot plus public toilets on site.↗↗↗

Entry is free, with a simple expectation that you help keep the grounds clean. The site is open daily, typically from around 09:00 to 18:00, though facilities are modest and there is no formal ticketing. Mornings and late afternoons are the most pleasant for light and temperature; bring sun protection if you come near midday.↗↗↗

A couple of practical cautions: the current flowing over and through the water gates can look deceptively powerful, so keep a careful footing on the bridge, hold onto children, and don't risk dropping phones or bags into the river. This is functional water infrastructure, not a swimming spot—admire the water, but stay on the designated walkways.↗↗

If you want to make the most of the surrounding tourism village and arrange a guide or see the broader Laskar Pelangi sights, the Desa Wisata Lenggang community can be contacted locally; they promote the dam alongside the area's other heritage and nature attractions.↗↗

What makes it special

01

A colonial Dutch weir on the Lenggang River, built in the 1930s to manage water levels for tin dredging rather than irrigation↗↗

02

A brightly painted walk-on footbridge across the water gate, a popular and free photography backdrop↗↗

03

Sunrise reflections and warm late-afternoon light, when anglers and families gather by the water↗↗

04

Tucked within the Laskar Pelangi literary route of Desa Wisata Lenggang, near Andrea Hirata's Kata Museum and the replica school↗↗

05

Free entry, a short drive from Manggar, with parking and basic facilities↗↗

A little planning goes a long way

Go early morning or late afternoon for the best light and cooler temperatures; midday heat on this former mining land can be intense.↗↗
Entry is free—just help keep the site clean and stay on the bridge and walkways.↗
The flow at the gates can be strong; mind your footing, hold young children, and don't risk dropping belongings into the river.↗↗
Budget roughly 20-30 minutes by road from Manggar and about an hour from H.A.S. Hanandjoeddin Airport, by car or motorbike.↗↗
Pair the dam with the nearby Laskar Pelangi sights (SD Muhammadiyah replica and Museum Kata Andrea Hirata) for a fuller East Belitung half-day.↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Finding your next place…

BENDUNGAN PICE

Why go?

More of Indonesia: Yogyakarta

Finding your next place…

BENDUNGAN PICE

Why go?

More of Indonesia: Yogyakarta

A Dutch legacy on the Lenggang River

What to see and do

Pairing it with the Laskar Pelangi sights

Getting there and visiting tips

What makes it special

A little planning goes a long way

About this guide