- Address: Jl. Piere Tendean, Putussibau, Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia
- Tel: +62 567 21935
- Area: 8,000 square meters. km
- Year of foundation: 1995
In the west of the Indonesian island of Kalimantan is the picturesque park Betung Kerihun. Almost all of its territory runs along the border of East Malaysia at the very sources of the Capua River.
Creature
The Ministry of Agriculture in 1982 issued a decree on the creation of the Reserve Betung Kerihun with an area of 600 thousand hectares, after 10 years the territory was expanded to 800 thousand hectares and became a national park . Due to the diversity of the unique nature, the Betung Kerihoon Park is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Protection of the park
The territory of the park Betung Kerihun is very large, and it is not so easy to guard it. To date, there are several problems that have serious consequences for the nature of the park. The first is deforestation, the second - poaching. High-quality varieties of trees, known to us under the names of black and red, go to illicit markets for the manufacture of expensive furniture. They also work with orangutans: they are caught and resold in Indonesian markets, after which they are in different zoos in the world. The government of the country is doing everything possible to correct this situation in Betung Kerihun.
What to see?
Of course, the main wealth of the park Betung Kerihun is nature. It is very diverse, and it seems that all kinds of plants and animals are collected here. The territory of the park is divided into flat and mountain forests. At an altitude oaks and chestnuts prevail, below are dipterocarp trees, which are also subjected to illegal logging (balms and essential oils are made from their wood). The whole area of the park is mountainous and hilly, the level ranges from 150 m to 1800 m. The highest points in Betung Kerihoon are Lavit (1,767 m) and Caryhun (1,790 m).
The plant and animal life of the park Betung Kerihun is as follows:
- the flora of the park Betung Kerihun resembles a jungle, among which you can see 97 species of orchids and 49 species of palm trees. In the mountainous areas of the park there are more than 500 plant species;
- 300 species of birds, most of them you can see a rhino bird, a pheasant-argument, a wool-stallion stork;
- 162 species of fish;
- 54 species of mammals. Tourists have the opportunity to see the squirrel, gibbon, leopard, lemur, reindeer, monkey-nosach, Malay bear;
- 26 species of reptiles, including gavial and combed crocodiles;
- in Betung Kerihun live some animals that are on the verge of extinction: crocodile macaques, thick loris, swine-tailed macaque, western tarsier, holothic and chestnut thinnote, Bornean orang-utan;
- 23 species of animals are endemic to the island;
- an interesting fact - more recently, researchers have discovered in one of the rivers of the park a new kind of water snake, capable of changing its color from white to reddish brown, like a chameleon. The length of the snake is 50 cm, and it is poisonous. Called this kind of "E. Gyii ».
Things to do?
The best time to visit the Betung Kerihoon National Park is September-December, the weather in these months is the most favorable and does not interfere with travel. Surveying the wild nature around is always impressive, but there are places where it will be much more interesting. Popular excursions are:
- climbing the mountains of Kerihun and Betung;
- Kayaking or canoeing along the waters of the Sibau, Mendalam and Tekelan rivers;
- Visit the incredibly beautiful waterfalls Sedik and Batang Pilung;
- walk along the limestone caves of Tanjung Lokang, located in the western part of the park.
How to get there?
The Betung Caryhun National Park is somewhat removed and is accessible to tourists only thanks to flights from the capital of Western Kalimantan, Pontianak . From there, twice a day, there are direct flights to Pangsuma airport in Putusibau, the nearest to the park of the village.