Gede Pangrango National Park

Gede Pangrango National Park is one of the most beautiful ecotourism destinations  in Indonesia.  It was designated as a nature reserve since 1889 by the Dutch Colonial Government. Its location is not far from Jakarta, the Capital City (100 km) and Bandung City (85) km, about  2 – 2.5 hours road trip. The park is one of favorite hiking treks for climber communities due to the scenery and stunning natural resources belong to this park.

Topographically,  this National Park is a chain of volcanoes, especially Mount Gede (2,850 meters above the sea level) and Mount Pangrango (3,019 meters above the sea level). This conservation area lies in three districts in West Java Province. It has 6 entrance areas: Cibodas and Mount Putri in Cianjur District, Selabintana and Situgunung in Sukabumi District, and Bodogol and Cisarua in Bogor District.

Edelweis (anaphalis javanica) found in Gede Pangrango National Park

The Park Contribution

Natural traveling in this region is rich with the beauty of Indonesian tropical rainforest. It covers an area of 22,851.03 hectares, a habitat for  more than 1,500 species of plants and 1,000 wild animals from 10 types of ecosystems.

Travelers may find rare flora such as Raflesia, Orchid Koribas and a fungus that can glow. This park is a habitat for 110 mammals, 300 species of insects and 250 species of birds. It also homes for 50 endangered species whose population is almost extinct include the Java Gibbon, Owa Jawa, Bird Horse, Java Eagle, etc.

The park is drained by 58 rivers and1,075 river steams with water volume reach 213 billion liters/year.  Thus, its function is very significant as the lungs of the world, capable of producing Oxygen (O₂) of 496,800 tons/year. It is also the stock of carbon in forest ecosystems of 142.19 up to 232.1 ton C/ha, if converted with a potential value of carbon trading reached $ 228 million.

Wow, imagine how fresh and clean the air that we can enjoy during exploration of this area, a condition that cannot be enjoyed in daily life of urban dwellers.

Some of the tourist zones in the National Park to be explored include water falls, camping area, hot spring, mountain peaks, lakes and craters.

Reference:

• Gede Pangrango
• Selayang Pandang Taman Nasional Guung Gede Pangrango Book
• Photo by Hafizhul Khair