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Baluran National Park
East Java, Java, Indonesia, Asia
About
Climate
Aside from Madura, this is the driest corner of Java
and from April to October it is very dry. The best time
to visit is the latter half of the dry season (June to
October) when the grazing animals are at their most
visible as they congegate the well known waterholes.
Outside of the dry season, the weather is very much
like the rest of Java. It rains especially heavily in
January and Febuary and during those months many
areas of the park will be impassable due to flooding.
National park office
Baluran National Park Office, Jl Jenderal A Yani
No108, Banyuwangi. Tel: +62 333 24119.
Understand
This park is a forest preservation area that covers
about 25,000 hectares of the north coast of East
Java. The park offers some great scenery and has
organised safari activities. Safari is a much misused
term in Asian travel circles but in this case it is
appropriate - there is something very African about
the savannah grasslands of Baluran. Of the three
large national parks in East Java, this is the easiest
reached and by far the easiest to travel around.
Flora and fauna
Mammals present include leopard cat, wild pig, Java
rusa deer, three species of monkeys and the
endangered java banteng (buffalo).
Birdlife is diverse despite enormous trapping
pressures for the cagebird trade before the national
park was formed. Some poaching still occurs.
Landscape
The dominant feature of the park is 1,247 m high
Mount Baluran, a dormant volcano. The park is
mostly savannah grass and acacia scrub inland and
monsoon forest with mangroves on the coast. 15 km
from the main entrance there is beautiful white sand
beach called Bama Beach with fringing mangroves
and a healthy offshore coral reef. Some 40 km of the
north coast of Java are within the boundaries of the
park and include some areas with excellent, healthy
coral reefs close to shore.
History
The value and unique nature of Baluran was first
recorded in 1928 by Dutch botanist AH Loedeboer.
Official national park status was granted in 1984
since which time the tourism potential of the park has
slowly been realised.
See
Bekol Savannah
This is the main veiwing point for the herds that
gather to drink at the water hole. You really will
believe you are in Africa here gazing across dry
savannah against the backdrop of Mount Baluran.
There is a also a tower which allows panoramic views
of the whole area.
Bama Beach
Nice white sand beach with good live coral close
offshore. Decent snorkelling spot. There is some
basic accommodation here. There are usually ojek
riders waiting at Bekol to ferry visitors across the
Bama Beach.
Do
Climb Mount Baluran. Not a high peak by Javanese
standards but the views from the top are excellent in
all directions including across the ocean to Madura.
You can see Bali on a clear day.
Eat
There are simple shops selling drinks at both Bekol
and Bama.
Bring in your own food with you. If you are camping
or staying at the simple lodges, you can stock up with
food in Banyuwangi (recommended) or at the simple
stores in Wonorejo.
If you have booked the park lodges in advance, they
will offer to cook meals for you.
Sleep
camping
Camping facilities are available in the park at Bekol.
lodging
There are about 16 simple rooms available at the
Bekol savannah watchpoint. These are rarely full but
you might want to make advance reservations via the
park office in Banyuwangi.
Rosa's Eco Lodge
Dusun Sidomulyo, Sumberwaru, Banyuputih, Situbondo 6
8734, East Java http://www.rosasecolodge.com binek
a@telkom.net +62 338 453005
A self-styled safari tour operator which owns decent
local cottages. They aim to have you participate in
their safaris and the accommodation is part of that.
However, they will allow you to book their
accommodation subject to availability after their safari
package guests are taken care of.
2 - Baluran National Park - www.journeum.com - free downloadable travel guides

Information
fees/permits
Rp 20,000 per person payble at the park office on the
main road near Wonorejo or in advance from:
• Baluran National Park Office, Jl Jenderal A Yani
No108, Banyuwangi. Tel: +62 333 24119.

Getting there
The nearest proper town to the park is Wonorejo on
the north coast road between Banyuwangi and
Probolinggo. The park entrance is no more than 30
minutes from the Banyuwangi ferry terminal by car or
bus (take a Wonorejo-bound bus).

Getting around
This is a large area with a lot of access roads leading
through the park. Therefore if you are travelling
independently, a hire car is a good idea. Visitors
arrive here having driven from Surabaya, Malang and
Bali - all very feasible.
Ojeks will take you from the main park office/entrance
area and from Bekol to Bama Beach.

See around
On to Probolinggo for the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru
National Park.
Malang - the cultural heart of East Java

This travel guide to Baluran National Park was created

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