Ujung Kulon

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Ujung Kulon
South coast in Ujung Kulon NP
South coast in Ujung Kulon NP
Ujung Kulon (Indonesia)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 6 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  S , 105 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  E
Location: Banten , Indonesia
Surface: 1206 km²
Founding: 1980 Indonesia, 1992 UNESCO
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The Ujung Kulon National Park on the southwest tip of Java Island is Indonesia's first national park . The great importance results from the biodiversity of the animal world, especially the Java rhinos living there and the largest lowland rainforest on Java as well as the surrounding marine fauna.

geography

The national park is located in the southwest of Java and is part of the district of Pandeglang . In the east of the national park, the Gunung Honje ridge runs in a north-south direction and rises to an altitude of 620 m. At the southern end there is a peninsula in a westerly direction. This peninsula is preceded by other islands such as Handeuleum, Peucang and Panaitan in the north . The land area covers 76,214 hectares, the adjacent sea zone a further 44,337 hectares. The Ujung Kulon peninsula is mostly flat, with the exception of Gunung Payung with a height of 480 m in the southwest. Panaitan has a central elevation at 360 m with the Gunung Raksa. The Krakatau archipelago is about 60 km north of the Ujung Kulon peninsula on the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra and covers 2500 hectares.

A narrow strip of land connects to the west of Gunung Honje, before wide sandy beaches border the Sunda Strait. The northeast coast of the peninsula is mostly swampy. In the north and west, narrow sandy beaches and reefs alternate. In the southwest the hills drop steeply to the sea. The south is dominated by wide sandy beaches.

The climate is tropical with temperatures between 25 and 30 ° C and 80–90% humidity. The rainy season runs from October to April and brings not only high rainfall (400 mm in December and January) but also strong westerly winds. The driest months are between July and September.

history

The Ujung Kulon Peninsula was declared a nature reserve in 1921. In 1937 the islands of Peucang, Handeuleum and Panaitan were added, and in 1958 the Gunung-Honje ridge. In 1980 Ujung Kulon was elevated to a national park together with the Krakatau nature reserve and finally recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 .

Ujong Kulon National Park
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
National territory: Indonesia
Type: nature
Criteria : (vii) (x)
Surface: 78 525 ha
Reference No .: 608
UNESCO region : Asia and Pacific
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 1991  (session 15)

Flora and fauna

Bantengs in the National Park (1941)

The vegetation is characterized by great diversity. These include pristine tropical rainforest, mangroves, freshwater swamps and coastal forest. Blossoming and fruit-bearing plants can be found everywhere. Over 310 animal species are recorded, including mammals, reptiles and birds, as well as countless species of insects. 50 to 60 Java rhinos still live in the Ujung Kulon National Park ; these are the last animals of this kind. While the rhinos, apart from their numerous tracks, are only seen extremely rarely, Banteng wild cattle appear more often in the clearings . Also mane deer , barking deer , wild boar , warty pigs , Kant Chile and macaques and langurs are commonly seen. Monitor lizards , pythons , turtles and occasional crocodiles can be seen especially near the river . The most conspicuous birds include the hornbill , kingfisher , sea ​​eagle and the bee-eater species blue- tailed pint and Malay pint . In the evening flying foxes and bats show up . Observations of leopards , wild dogs and gibbons are rare .

Around the coast there are some reefs and colorful coral beds that are home to numerous marine life.

tourism

Katerakt Curug Cigenter

The starting point for tours in the Ujung Kulon National Park is the city of Labuan on Sunda Strait , which can be reached from Jakarta by taxi or bus in 3 to 5 hours. The park administration is located in Labuan and grants visitors permission. On Peucang there are guesthouses with different equipment and a restaurant, on Handeuleum another simple guesthouse; availability should be requested from the park administration beforehand. In Labuan and in the neighboring seaside resort of Carita, tours to the national park are also offered. The crossing to Krakatau takes around two hours by motorboat, and around four hours to Ujung Kulon. Overland you can take the bus from Labuan to Taman Jaya (about 5 hours) and either rent a boat there or hike through the park on foot. A guide is compulsory. Since there is no food option except for Peucang, all food is to be taken with you. Water is available in some places in the park, but it has to be filtered and boiled accordingly.

From Handeuleum, you can go canoeing on the Cigentar River, which can be followed by a 2 km hike through the jungle to a cataract. At the mouth of the Cigentar there is a clearing with an observation tower.

From Peucang you can cross over to the peninsula to the clearing of Cidaon with an observation tower or to Cibom and the lighthouse Tanjung Layar at the westernmost point of Java. Further hikes to the south coast or the north are possible. Peucang also has beautiful coral reefs for snorkeling.

From Taman Jaya there are various routes through the park to the south coast and from there to Peucang (plan at least 2 days). There are some shelters on the way to stay overnight, but bringing a tent is an advantage. A complete circuit of the peninsula is not possible due to the swamps in the northeast. There are over 100 km of hiking trails, most of which, due to nature conservation, run close to the coast and rarely lead into the interior of the peninsula.

In a cave in Sanghyang Sirah in the southwest there is a Muslim memorial, which is sometimes visited by local pilgrims.

The south of Panaitan offers ideal waves for surfing. A surf camp was set up on Panaitan under questionable circumstances in 2005, which has since been abandoned (2009). There is a statue of the Hindu deity Ganesha on Mount Gunung Raksa .

literature

  • Andries Hoogerwerf (1970): Udjung Kulon: The Land of the Last Javan Rhinoceros. With Local and General Data on the most Important Faunal Species and their Preservation in Indonesia , EJ Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-00963-9

Web links

Commons : Ujung Kulon National Park  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Ujung Kulon National Park. Retrieved September 5, 2017 .