Little is known of the early history of the area. Until the 19th century the whole mountain complex was inaccessible to man and covered with dense primary forest. But most probably the trail connecting Cianjur and Cipanas with Cisarua and Bogor was an important route for travellers. From earliest times, Junghuhn (1843) reported that a few years before his visit the Puncak Pass area was still unsettled. The face of the area however, changed completely with the introduction of tea to Java and the real progress was made after the introduction of Assam tea variety from India in 1878. In 1886 the first leases were granted for opening large areas of forest for the Goalpara estate, which were planted between 1901 and 1910. Gradually other estates on the lower slopes were also opened and planted, of which the last was the Gunung Mas estate in 1921. The whole aspect of the region was thus changed from a dark dense tropical rainforest to fertile tea gardens.