Baluran Park

Baluran National Park is located in south-east Banyuwangi. This a forest for animal conservation. It has a rich wildlife and maybe there are no other national parks that are so easy to visit and so easy to see wild animals. You don't even have to walk, unless you want to. You can find a lot of wild animal in their habitat at afternoon.

Efforts to get legal protection for Baluran started already in 1928 and in 1937 the area finally got its first kind of protection. Before it had been a hunting ground. In 1984 Baluran got its status as a National Park.

Baluran Park covers an area of 25.000 hectares including 40 km of attractive coastline. Forty percent of the park consists of savanna, teeming with wildlife. A part of the park is overgrown by Acacia trees that once were brought in as fire walls and spread out of control.

The coast line consists of mangrove forest, beaches and some coral reefs. The reefs are on a depth of 0,5m to 40m and nice for snorkeling and diving.

Rosa's Ecolodge has some snorkeling equipment available. The beaches are beautiful and family friendly and the only other visitors are an occasional fisherman or two.

Click to enlargeThe slopes of Gunung (mountain) Baluran are covered by secondary monsoon forest (very rare on Java) and are inhabited by many mammals and birds.

Even the very rare Javan panther is still living here. This 1.246m high non-active volcano dominates the scenery of the whole park.

The park is relatively small, but has ten types of ecosystems and hosts a wide variety and big numbers of animals and plants. At the last count 140 bird species were spotted.

Click to enlargeThe main attractions are the Javanese wild ox (Banteng), Rusa deer, Barking deer, Feral water buffalo, Asiatic wild dog, and other species.

Other common sightings are Leaf monkeys, Monitor lizards, Squirrels, Fruit bats, Javan warty pig, Common palm civet, and many interesting bird species. The Green jungle fowl, the Red jungle fowl, and the Javanese peacock are common sights for most visitors. The park was once also inhabited by the Javan tiger.

Lists of plants, mammals, birds, and reptiles can be obtained at Rosa's Ecolodge.

The park has an observation tower on a hill at Bekol and some waterholes where animals easily can be seen from a distance. The best way to see the animals is from a safari-car, especially at night.

The Park is managed by a government body called PHPA. A permit is needed to enter the park. It can be obtained at the main gate or at Rosa's Ecolodge. There is a Japanese bunker at the main gate dating from WW II.

Promoting Conservation

We actually promote conservation by financing the building of a drinking place for animals on the savanna raising conservation awareness of children by forming classes and by donating funds to the National Park.