Is about witnessing the richness of Indonesia in the form of true nature experience.
Written by Randi Eka Sanjaya
Alas Purwo National Park or so be called Jenggala in East Java is Indonesia national park that took place in Banyuwangi, East Java. It is known for its tropical forest vegetation, this location is always on guard and protected from any threat that strongly related with natural damage. This site has at least 43.420 hectare and known before as wildlife reserve, until in 1992, forestry minister has change its status into national park.
Supposedly told that Alas Purwo has been suspected for the last resort of Majapahit Kingdom at a time when they try to avoid from invasion that being executed by Mataram Kingdom before they choose to flee into Bali afterwards. Retrospection for that matter can be seen from environment near Alas Purwo that until today, majority of the citizen near Alas Purwo are come from Ancient Mataram and embracing Java Traditional culture.
For its geographical identity, Alas Purwo National Park has 6 different ecosystem such as bamboo forest, coastal rainforest, mangrove, nature forest, plant forest, and its gorgeous plus natural savanna. This many ecosystem has become home for 13 kind of bamboo, 580 kind of flora from grass, bushes, trees, and many fauna like mammals, aves, amphibian, turtle, and many more with a total for 31 kind.
We have explored this national park as Atmajaya Photography Club representative back in January 2018. Our journey start with meeting with the rangers in Rawabendo guarding post. This post located after the gate entrance Alas Purwo region. This post has been known as the border of conservative region and people residential areas. Then, moving from post, we embrace ourself to took a visit in total 11 location inside. As for what kind of tourist destination, Alas Purwo has known for its superiority in spiritual image, few place that we count and pay a visit with are Istana cave, Mangkleng Cave, Mayangkoro Cave, Giri Salaka Temple, and Kawitan Site. These two last destination is being used for Hinduism activities. Another place is known for its natural image such as Mangrove Bedul, Cungur Beach, Ngagelan Beach, Pancur Beach, Plengkung Beach, Trianggulasi Beach, and Savana Sadengan.
As I referring to its spiritual image, Alas Purwo has offer a series of cave which took a different place in there, but there is 3 cave that famous within all cave, it is Istana Cave, Mayangkoro Cave, and Mangkleng Cave. This 3 cave are often refered as a place for doing ritual and meditation.
Photo of Mayangkoro Cave (2018)
Also, this series of cave are presenting their beauty as is reflected through its stone, structure, and stalactite ornament. There will be a plenty of animals that take the cave as their home such as bats, insects, and also snakes, but no need to worry as there is plenty of ranger that will assisting you in the exploration. Istana Cave and Mayangkoro Cave can be reached through walking along within bamboo forest which took place exactly in west side of Pancur Beach, but you have to noted that to reach Mayangkoro Cave, you have to climb the stairs for 4,8 meters. This special approach is being needed because Mayangkoro Cave is formed by burly widening and rock ruins, and it is also can be reached through walking from Rawabendo Guarding Post.
Not just stopping on its cave, there is another spiritual image that being represented by Pura Luhur Giri Salaka. This temple is accidentally founded in 1967, and nowadays, this place is welcoming tourist for public place for worship. Even this place is intentionally used for Hinduism, public tourist can still relish this place through Kawitan Site which took place behind Pura Luhur Giri Salaka. For tourist attraction, in every 210 days, there is Pagerwesi Ceremony which conceive cultural value as a form of knowledge that has been passed down by the God.
Alas Purwo is also intersect with Indonesia Ocean, this fact make Alas Purwo as a home for a series of exotic beach. A few of them are Trianggulasi Beach, Pancur Beach, and Plengkung
Beach.
Photo of Pancur Beach (2018)
Those 3 beaches has some similarity because they are set a food in the same line. Those similarity are represented in the exotic of white sands overlay that also cover as far as the eye can see. It is also covered in a series of coral and stone that covered in green moss. Outside those things, we can see a lot of peculiarity in each beaches. Beside for placed in west side of that series, Trianggulasi Beach is a beach who cover a series of place to stay in a form of lodging lodge. Then, go to the east side, there is Pancur Beach with few facilitate such as camping ground, and place to get some breakfast. Then aside from those two beach, there is Plengkung Beach which has known in worldwide scale for its waves and often be called as to produce best waves to take your board in.
In west side of Alas Purwo, there is a location for turtle conservation which took place in Ngagelan Beach. This beach has become a place for more than 125 turtle that being in care before they can go into the ocean. The species are green turtle, hawksbill turtles and leatherback turtle. Beside from the 19 kilometer length, this beach also has a big wave so that this beach is become a proper location for conservation, landing, and hatching activities. The perfect time to watch sea turtles lay eggs is in the between of May until September.
In the west end, we can meet a series of mangrove forest that has known for Mangrove Forest Block Bedul Ecotourism. The Bedul name is being named after fish cork that can be found in a lot of place within, precisely in Segoro Anakan Estuary. Mangrove Bedul is also placed in the edge of watershed and becoming home for 27 kind of mangrove plant. There is also a plenty of fauna including monkey, lizard, heron, sea eagle, and blibis. To explore Mangrove Bedul, visitor can use a boat that often called by local people as “gondang-gandung”. Aside for splitting the ranks of mangrove forest, local people also utilize it as infrastructure to get into Cungur Beach. Cungur Beach is located in west end of Alas Purwo and also become habitat for bird migration. It has been noted that we could meet 39 kinds of bird there. As a place to looking for food and breed, the exoticism of this beach often be captured as people do birdwatching, take a picture, until it become recreation site that seems prosperous for the local people of Granjangan Port and surroundings.
In doing the conservation activities, Savana Sadengan is one of them. Placed in the middle of Alas Purwo, this place has a sole purpose to become feeding ground. Savana Sadengan has been establish in 1978 and providing habitat for wild animal such as Javanese Bull (Bos Javanicus), deer (Mutiacus Muntjak), Rusa (Cervus Timorensis), green peacook (Pavo Muticus), white starling (Acridotheres Melanopterus), Eagle (Nisaetus Bartelsi), and wild dog (Ajag). Besides of the fauna, this place also facilitating watching tower, research cottage, information board, and bathroom. To witness the natural attraction, the best time to pay a visit to observe the animal is around 6 am – 9 am and 3 pm – 6 am.
It sure become an amazing journey. It is about witnessing the richness of Indonesia in the form of true nature experience. Witnessing the spiritual aromatic scene that sure tells me a lot of practice in history side, and also experiencing the natural exoticism as far as my eyes can see do make me hope for a day when I could pay a visit again.
Photo of Our Team (2018)
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