The inland and coastal areas of Sukabumi were first explored by Europeans at the end of the 17th century, when VOC planned to open plantations throughout Priangan. The first Dutch expedition was led in 1687 by Pieter Scipio van Oostende into the remnant of Pakuan and ended on Wijnkoopsbaai (present-day Palabuhanratu). The next expeditions were led by Adolf Winkler in 1690, and governor-general Abraham van Riebeeck in 1703, 1704, and 1709. In the 1709 expedition Van Riebeeck passed through Mount Gede and visited southern Sukabumi to check the progress of coffee cultivation in that area. One of the first coffee plantation opened by Van Riebeeck was located in present-day Gunungguruh subdistrict. The first coffee harvest was officially sent on April 14, 1711, by Tjiandjoer regent Wiratanu III. In 1723, The coffee plantation areas in Sukabumi were grown, along with the enlargement of Tjiandjoer Regency during the administration of Hendrick Zwaardecroon.
