[Banyuwangi] Taman Nasional Baluran
3:13 PM
To be honest, I never heard of Taman Nasional Baluran
before. I learned about it from our tour guide, when one of my friends asked
him about the itinerary for our trip. After that, I decided to do a little
research on the internet. Turns out, I can’t take my eyes off of it.
Taman Nasional Baluran (Baluan National Park) is a
government protected landscape park also famous for it’s other name Indonesia’s
Little Africa/Africa van Java. The Taman Nasional Baluran consist of savanna,
lowland forests, mangrove forests and hills.
With a total area around 25.000 ha, Taman Nasional Baluran is divided into five zones. The Main Zone (12.000 ha), the Wilderness Zone (5.000 ha), the Intensive Utilization Zone (800 ha), the Specific Utilization Zone (5.500 ha) and the Rehabilitation Zone (800 ha). Impressed? Don’t be impressed by me, I just read it from the Wikipedia.
The entrance fee is IDR 7.500 per person and IDR 15.000 for
a car (weekend price), I personally think that this is something that you must
visit in Banyuwangi. Because with a very cheap price, you can get lots of Banyuwangi beautiful view in one place.
The view was magical. I got chills down my spine and it
really feels like you are in the savannah. Actually the savannah area was blocked by wood fences and you
cannot trespass the wood fence because the savannah is a habitat for cobra
snake. But if you’re some kind of a rebel like us you decided to trespass
it like we did, you are at your own risk.
All of the animals in Taman Nasional Baluran is live wild and
freely. However there are some month that considered as the best time to watch
the animal, as they tend to come out more on those month. We expect nothing
since December usually is the rain season there, so there won’t be animal
walking around much. But somehow we got lucky and spotted a group of deers and
bisons.
Well we didn’t get really close to the bisons, but still we
are lucky enough to spot them. In case you didn’t get the chance to see the
bisons, don’t worry. You can take pictures with their skulls.
As for the Pantai Bama, it was beautiful and surprisingly
clean. It was a great place to sit and relax in the afternoon. You can swim and
play around, they provide a public toilet for you to wash after. However please
mind your belongings as there are lots of monkeys running around and they are
aiming for your things.
My trip to Taman Nasional Baluran was considerably great,
since we were able to saw deers and bisons when it wasn’t their season. There
are still a few spot to visits in Taman Nasional Baluran, but I didn’t get the
chance to explore more. I just wish I had more time to explore the rest of the
park though. But still, I really do recommend you to come and see this Africa
van Java by yourself. As it was charming and magical.
Top tips for Taman Nasional Baluran:
- Make sure your car is in a top shape. It was a long 12 KM driving (from the front gate to the savanna location) with a very bumpy road.
- Use a light and comfortable clothing. In the afternoon, the weather can get quite hot.
- Put on some sunblock. I find the sun shine quite intense and make my face a little bit sore afterwards.
- Becareful of the monkeys. Especially the one in Pantai Bama. They are very aggressive and naughty. I remember they suddenly running towards us and grab my friend’s drink. Take a good care of your belongings.
- Bring sunglasses. Other than to help you look through the shining sun, it made you look thousand time cooler in pictures (lol).
Taman Nasional
Baluran
Sumberwaru, Banyuputih
East Java, Indonesia
(0333) 461-936
0 comments