Explore Baluran National Park: the Africa van Java

Img: instagram @btn_baluran (https://www.instagram.com/p/B_8wZOIAbw9/ )

You wouldn't imagine that such a vast flat land savanna exists in a tropical country like Indonesia. The Baluran National Park is a nature preservation area that has an original ecosystem of 25,000 hectares, located in the district of Situbondo, East Java. Comprising various contours of area, Baluran National Park consists of mangrove forest, beaches, various flora fauna, and a beautiful landscape of savannah.

Baluran is not just a merely travel destination. Managed by the zoning system, Baluran National Park can also be your research object, a place to learn, preserve culture, recreation, and a perfect tourism destination. Moreover, the scenery in savannah bekol is so promising that a lot of photographer and videographer uses this place in their works.

To explore the Baluran National Park, you can drive a car or motorcycle. But please note that the area is full of animals to keep an eye on. So, every tourist who visits baluran is strongly encouraged to drive at under 20km/hour. But don't worry, you will want it that way too to enjoy the view as well as observe the animals' activity.

To give you a further overview of Baluran, let’s dive into this article. We will narrate more about the savannah, mangrove forest, animals, and so on:

Baluran and its characteristic

In the dry season, water becomes scarce, the land and the trees are droughts, also the savannah becomes barren. These dry season conditions, combined with the presence of wildlife, make Baluran National Park a good representation of Africa, inspiring locals to call it the Africa van Java. Even though the rainy season makes baluran turn green.

Baluran National Park is marked by savannah bekol, dry trees, and rocks. Wild creatures such as kancil (little Java mouse-deer), banteng (large Javan water buffaloes), and deers did as well. The Banteng, especially, is exclusive to this national park and has become the Baluran mascot.

Flora and Fauna

Img : Y Mura on google maps

Baluran National Park is flora and fauna rich. There are 444 of flora identified, with 265 of these being therapeutic plants. Some of the present flora can survive in the dry season, while others can remain green in such conditions.

There is also a variety of fauna. Comprising hundreds of bird species and dozens of mammals with a part of them are considered as endangered animals. When you visit baluran, You will see macaques along your journey. Other than macaques, you’ll see another animals like kancil (small java mouse deer), banteng (large Javan water buffaloes), muncak deer, and many more.

During the rainy season, there will be ample water holes in Baluran because the land's inability to absorb much water. At this situation, the wild bulls and Banteng are more likely to stay inside the forest barely seen by the tourist, but other animals like wildfowl, mouse deer, and peacocks still show up and can be seen.

All of this wealth diversity within Baluran National Park makes it a fascinating research object.

Baluran tourism spot

Evergreen forest

Source: https://www.sfidnfits.com/3-destinasi-indah-di-taman-nasional-baluran-yang-harus-anda-singgahi

Evergreen forest is a forest you’ll see in a way from the ticket counter to Savannah Bekol. This is a tropical forest that provides shelter and abundant food for the animals living here.

In the rainy season, the evergreen forest trees grow thick and green. It will make you feel like driving through a green tunnel. Moreover, a swarm of butterflies will accompany your way to Savannah Bekol, flying around the street.

Savannah bekol

Img: Dwi Cahya

Just like we mentioned before, savannah bekol is the main area of Baluran. Aside from the Banteng, it stands just like another mascot of Baluran National Park. And to reach the Savannah Bekol, you have to drive 13 km through the evergreen forest with an average vehicle speed of 20km/hour.

The scenery of Savannah bekol is unarguably pleasing, whether when the grass is withering in the dry season or green in the rainy season. Not only that, but you can also enjoy the view of Baluran mountain, as well as observe the wildlife activities here.

A lot of people choose Savannah Bekol as their prewedding photoshoot location. Even a very well-known Indonesian singer, Raisa had her video clip shot on Savannah Bekol, Baluran.

Pandang Tower

Img: instagram @btn_baluran (https://www.instagram.com/p/B5T76yaA8H9/)

Pandang tower is one of Baluran’s tourist constituents you can try. It’s a place where you can enjoy the Baluran National Park from a height. Located in the middle of Savannah Bekol, you can watch landscape of savannah, mountains, and animals from above.

Bama Beach

Img source : https://indonesiakaya.com/pustaka-indonesia/pantai-bama-pantai-eksotik-di-balik-taman-nasional-baluran/

Mountains, vast savannah landscape, and beach. Baluran National Park is a one-stop travel spot to see all of these sights.

Bama beach is a part of Baluran National Park located 3 km away from the Savannah Bekol. It is also utilized as a resting place for Baluran National Park’s tourists. There are restrooms, a prayer room, and canteens on-site. However, even though it is possible to enjoy a picnic here, you should think twice because macaques like to steal food from guests.

Bama Mangrove Dock

Img: Sena Nugraha

The mangrove forest is on the other side of Bama Beach; to get there, you need to walk through a path about 100 meters from the beach to the south. Tourists can enjoy well-kept mangrove trees, lovely piers, and sea panoramas while exploring the mangrove forest.

Conservations and others

In addition to the 5 spots mentioned above, Baluran National Park features numerous spots that can be explored as tourist destinations or as wildlife reserves, including Goa Jepang, curah tangis, kajang beach, teluk air tawar (freshwater bay), batu numpuk, sumur tua, manting, kramat, and so on.

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That’s it about Baluran National Park, having a safari trip here is a worth try and we highly recommend you to visit Baluran.