While Jakarta has Angke Kapuk Mangrove Nature Park and Yogyakarta has Kulonprogo Mangrove Forest, Papua and West Papua have Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park. Located in Sorong, West Papua, Klawalu becomes the first mangrove park in the land of Cenderawasih. Let’s get to know the beauty of Klawalu a little closer.
Front Gate and Tickets’ Prices
Besides exploring the underwater beauty of Papua, visitors can also enjoy the enticing mangrove day trip in West Papua. Here, tourists can observe various kinds of greenery, such as Rhizopora lamarckii montr, Terminalia catappa l, Rhizopora apiculata blume, Sonneratia caseolaris (l.) engler, and many more.
Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park is located in Malibela road, Klawalu district, around 17 to 30 minutes from Domine Eduard Osok Airport. Visitors who are eager to enjoy the beauty of this place must first buy entry tickets at the front gate of the park. Klawalu Mangrove opens every day from morning to 6 p.m.
The front gateway is decorated with brown writing, Papuan paintings, and also a picture of a Cenderawasih bird that is flanked by an arrow. As for the entry tickets, there are three kinds of them, pink tickets, blue tickets, and yellow tickets.
Blue tickets are for adults and are priced at ten thousand rupiahs. Pink tickets are for children as well as four-wheeled vehicles and are priced at five thousand rupiahs. Meanwhile, the yellow tickets are for two-wheeled vehicles and are priced at two thousand rupiahs.
The tip of the tickets says, “Sorong City Government Tourism Office Admission Fee for Mangrove Tourism Klawalu.” In the meantime, the bottom ends of the tickets say “Regional Regulation No. 02 the Year 2019 January 22, 2020.”
Mama Ruce Baho, the woman who sold the ticket shared that the number of visitors outside holiday is not much. “Can be counted on the fingers,” so she said. However, during the weekend, the earnings can reach IDR 300,000 until IDR 500,000.
Build With IDR 45.3 Billion Funds
Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park was built by Kementeriam Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif (Kemenparekraf) or Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. Using Dana Alokasi Khusus (DAK) or Special Allocation Fund on Tourism Fiscal Year 2018-2022, the infrastructure of this new tourism spot has spent IDR 45.3 Billion.
The Tourism and Creative Economy Minister, Sandiaga Uno, October last year stated that the economic-development of this mangrove was part of a continuing collaboration that was started in 2018 and will continue until 2022.
At the same time, Sandiaga also chose the Klawalu Sorong Mangrove Park as a tourist destination for the delegates of the G20 High-Level Conference (KTT) which is planned to be held in 2022. The minister planned to ask the delegates to plant mangroves first, before continuing to Raja Ampat.
During the visit, the minister planted mangrove seeds along with Deputy Mayor of Sorong City, Pahimah Iskandar, Director of Destination II Development Kemenparekraf/Baprekraf, Wawan Gunawan, and Regional Secretary of Sorong City, Yakob M. Kareth, and Director of Destination Governance Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf, Indra Ni Tua.
Fun Activities You Can Do at Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park
There are five exciting activities you can do while visiting this West Papua’s new tourist spot. The first is relishing the captivating natural beauty of Klawalu Mangrove from Pandang Tower. This tower is provided by the administrator for visitors to enjoy the whole scenery and the fresh air of Klawalu.
The second amusing activity is passing through the colorful bridge and taking aesthetic photos. You can collect many cool pictures in front of colorful houses and bright-colored bridges.
Besides enjoying the panorama and capturing many stunning portraits, you can also experience staying a night here. The management of Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park provides eight units of homestay facilities. The facility includes a barbeque menu at night and a fun bike in the morning. There are also jogging tracks for you who never skip running.
The fourth activity that you shouldn’t miss is learning more about mangroves. You can learn about the prevention of intrusion (shrinkage) of seawater, mangrove habitat, prevention of erosion and abrasion that happens in coastal areas, the food source for faunas in this area, and many more.
The fifth activity in this new West Papua tourist spot is, of course, the activity that most holidaymakers like, which is shopping. And it’s not simply just about buying things. You can purchase the products produced from the hands of Sorong’s creative economy.
The women of Sorong create products that you can bring home as souvenirs. Some of their products are Papua’s traditional bag Noken, pea flower tea, sago chips, palm salt, and many hand-made crafts such as tissue boxes, flower vases, and a display made from the bark of the midrib of sago leaves.
So, are you interested in visiting Klawalu Mangrove Tourist Park in Sorong, West Papua? Don’t just aim for Raja Ampat because Papua and West Papua have so many beautiful places you can visit.
