What would you choose to visit, if you have a chance to go to West Papua? Most of us maybe will choose Raja Ampat. It is not surprising. Raja Ampat is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. You need at least visit it once in your lifetime, to see and experience the place that is called the paradise of Earth. However, you also can try to enjoy west papua forest tourism. This activity will give you different feelings and experiences that you have never had before.
What You Can Enjoy
West papua forest holds one of the magically beautiful sceneries you can find in the world. The rainforest in this area, mostly, is still in its purest condition. It is untouched by the human hand. Therefore, you can see the most natural condition of the forest, as well as the living creatures that live in it. And, that’s the main reason why you should try this adventure.
Bird Viewing
This is the most popular forest tourism activity you can try in West Papua. This area has more than 800 bird species that you can see directly in its natural habitat. Get your camera ready to capture their beautiful image. Enjoy how they fly and move from place to place gracefully.
Of course, another thing you also can enjoy is not only when these birds move around. Some of its species is considered rare and even classified as an endangered animal. Because of this status, you can feel the real meaning of bird viewing only in West Papua.
And, do not forget to see one of the most popular birds in West Papua. Yes, we are talking about the Bird of Paradise. This beautiful bird has a bright and unique feature color combination that you can’t find on other birds from other places. Make sure you hire a local guide because they are the only one that knows where you can see this beautiful bird.
Mangrove Tour
The west papua forest tourism is not only an adventure in the rainforest. You also can try to explore the mangrove forest, which gives you a similarly exciting experience. One of the best destinations you can visit is Batanta Island.
This place has a beautiful mangroves forest close to its beach. On the other hand, you also can try to walk further in to find a beautiful waterfall and small lake. Best of all, among 800+ bird species that live in West Papua, 160 of them live close to Batanta Island. Therefore, you can enjoy the bird viewing activity here as well.
Finding and Seeing Orchid
Other than the animal, the plants in West Papua are also something that you can’t miss. Orchid is your main target here. In the forest of West Papua, there are many Papua native orchids that you can’t find elsewhere. For example, the Irian giant orchid is one of the most beautiful and most popular orchids in the world.
According to the latest data, there are at least 2,500 orchid species in West Papua. That number is half of the number of the Indonesia orchid species. However, you should prepare your physic before trying this activity. You will need to explore the forest to see this plant in its natural habitat. And, that could be very tiring without preparation.
Conclusion
The people in West Papua now are trying to promote forest tourism and ecotourism. They believe that this is one of the best methods to protect their forest from exploitation by modern industry. And, that works well. Now, we can say that west papua forest tourism has become one of the main destinations that people from all around the world choose.
