Banyuwangi, YoExplore – Meru Betiri National Park is a tourist destination that is popular among travelers in recent years. Especially for nature adventure lovers who like to explore the remote yet exotic nature. It has become one of the most popular destinations recently in Java Island. The name “Meru Betiri” itself is a combination of the two mountains located in the National Park, namely Mount Meru and Mount Betiri.
So, what you could explore and enjoy in the forest area that covers 58,000 hectares? A million attractiveness that you could find in this area. Curios, right? So, don’t go anywhere and keep reading the explanation below:
Meru Betiri National Park (Source: Merubetiri.id)
History of Meru Betiri National Park
This protected forest area has been established since 1929 by the Dutch Government. Then, in 1972, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia designated the park as a Wildlife Reserve to protect the Javanese Tigers. Furthermore, in 1997, the Government of Indonesia officially declared it as Meru Betiri National Park. And, in 2016 the Government of Indonesia established a zoning system of the Park by dividing it into four main zones.
Location of Meru Betiri National Park
Meru Betiri is the only low land tropical forest left in Java Island. Administratively, it stretches into two administrative regions, namely the Regency of Jember and the Regency of Banyuwangi. Therefore, we could access it both from Jember as well as Banyuwangi route. The National Park is only 64 km from Jember or around 1.5 hours of travel time. While from Banyuwangi, we need a longer time for 3.5 up to 4 hours to reach the site.
A Million Attractiveness of Meru Betiri National Park
Table of Contents (Daftar Isi)
Home for Endangered Animals
Birds Habitat (Source: Merubetiri.id)
Meru Betiri National park is a Home of Biodiversity due to various flora and fauna that live and breed in this site. One of the unique things about the Park is that it is home to endangered species. One of them is the Java Tiger or its Latin name Panthera Tigris Sondaica whose habitat is almost extinct. Also, this forest is a habitat for 29 species of mammals and 180 species of birds. Among other bulls, flying squirrels, peacocks, deer, eagles, and many others.
Home to Rare and Protected Flora
Besides being inhabited by hundreds of rare animals, Meru Betiri National Park is also home to unique and protected flora. There are about 293 types of vegetation could be found in this tropical forest. Among them are a parasite named Balanhopora Fungosa, which only exists in this forest.
There are also Raffles flowers and hundreds of types of medical plans which already utilized as medicines. Moreover, Meru Betiri National Park has tropical rain forest ecosystems in the north and center, as well as mangrove and swamp forest ecosystems. Also, the most impressive is the extent of rubber as well as coffee plantations available in the forest area.
Sukamade Beach the Center of Turtle Conservation
Sukamade Beach is famous as a center for the conservation of green turtles and the release of turtle children. The beach has beautiful panorama surrounding with coffee, rubber, and chocolate plantations. Since 1972, this area has been established as a center for green turtle conservation. However, access to Sukamade Beach is quite challenging. The best option to reach it by off-road adventure using land rover, jeep, or motor rails. But, once you reach the Beach, all tired will pay off and disappear. Visitors shall amaze with its exoticism.
Also, you do not need to worry about where to overnight. There are many homestay and lodging facilities around Sukamade Beach. Alternatively, you could spend overnight at the camping ground. And, the best part is you could rent the camping facilities from the management of Meru Betiri National Park. At night, you could join a unique tour to observe turtles lay eggs. Then, in the morning, we could join the activity to release turtle children to offshore. The 2-week-old turtle children are ready to explore the offshore.
Turtles Conservation (Source: Merubetiri.id)
Bandealit Beach
Bandealit Beach is one of the charms within Meru Betiri National Park. The location is at Andongrejo Village at Tempurejo District, Jember Regency. The unique experience that you could enjoy is the off-road adventure using jeep or motor rail to reach the spot. It shall take around 3.5 hours from Jember to reach Bandealit Beach. You shall enjoy the adventure sensations across villages, forests, rivers, and meet rare animals. Arriving at Bandealit, you shall be excited with the breathtaking panorama of the beach.
Canoeing in the Forrest (Source: Merubetiri.id)
Besides enjoying a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, you could also play canoeing provided by the Management of Meru Betiri National Park. And, at this site, you could spend overnight, either in the lodging or camping ground. No need to bother carrying camping gear since the Management rents camping equipment to visitors. Besides, we could also visit Japanese Cave or Japanese Bunker located in this area.
Read Also Family Vacation in Banyuwangi.
Marine Tourism at Rajegwesi Beach
Rajegwesi Beach is in the south of Banyuwangi, precisely at Sarongan Village in Pesanggrahan District. It takes around 1 hour from Banyuwangi to reach the beach. In this area, you could interact with traditional fishers in fishing villages. We also could see the ranks of fishing wood boats along the shore. Besides, visitors could enjoy water activities such as swimming and snorkeling. Rajegwesi is famous for its giant towering rocks. Therefore, the wave is quite safe and calm for swimming or snorkeling.
In Sarongan Village, visitors could interact with local people and enjoy agro-tourism. Among others, we could visit home industries that produce Javanese sugar, which is processed traditionally. Just like Sukamade Beach, in Rajagwesi, we could also find the habitat of rare turtles. Rajagwesi is also a center for turtles conservation. Lastly, enjoy the night by sleeping in the camping ground.
Trekking to Teluk Hijau (Green Bay) and Damai Bay
As the name suggests, green color dominates the Green Bay, and the beach is rich in green algae. Green Bay is very famous for its stretch of white sand and its pretty calm beaches with not too big waves. We could achieve Teluk Hijau by trekking on a path for about 1 hour. Somehow, you do not worry since you could enjoy the lush green forests and meet some rare animals.
Contact YoExplore to arrange the best journey to Mount Betiri National Park.
