Tropical Rainforest a Great Tourist Attraction

Tropical rainforest - an attractive tourist destination

I don't know whether you agree with the above title or not but as a tourist guide, I have been escorting tourists hiking around the tropical rainforest of Manokwari city of Indonesia. They traveled from such countries as Russia, Norway, England and the Netherlands to watch birds, butterflies, as well as orchids in their natural habitats. I always write my experience traveling with them at my blog Ecotourism Manokwari Papua. Tourists who come to the rainforest of Table Mountain or Arfak Mountains will have the change to see the beauty of the wildlife and the forest vegetation that cannot be seen outside tropical region. For example, the sulphur crested cockatoo and the birds of paradise have always been great attractions to nature lovers. Birds are the most effective seed dispersers. It means they are the ones that expand the forest area or that restore the deforested region. So, when travelers go hiking in the tropical rainforest, they do not only enjoy the beautiful scenery, breathe fresh air or take photographs of wild animals but also study the functions of each component of the forest ecosystem.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo from Rainforest of West Papua

Explore the jungle appreciate the environment

Before traveling inside or through the rainforest, I suggest that you wear boots and apply mosquito repellent lotion on your skin.Don't forget to bring binoculars and digital video or photo camera to locate and take photographs of beautiful kakaktua bird, bats flying inside caves or wild flowers under the canopy of big trees. Tropical islands in Indonesia such as Papua and other small islands adjacent to it are still covered with rainforest. After hiking inside the forest, you may be interested in swimming and snorkeling around the Mansinam or Lemon islands in the Dorey bay of Manokwari. Bring your snorkeling mask and fins if you want to go to the beach after enjoying the fresh air inside the forest.

Russian tourists in Table mountain of Manokwari with local guide Paul Warere

Tropical rain forest plays very important role in our life. Forests in Amazon region of Brazil in Latin America, Kalimantan and Papua islands of Indonesia absorb large amount of CO2 gases that world's population emit every day. Although most of us know about this vital function, we have done little to protect it. We are still reluctant to cycling to work. We enjoy driving our nice cars that use fossil fuel that pollutes our atmosphere. Perhaps we have not visited our city parks for years. That's why we forget how to appreciate our environment. My today's hub is about hiking in the tropical rain-forest of Manokwari Papua . I write this hub to raise awareness among all of us to be aware that the toxic fumes that we emit through our vehicles to the air are being absorbed by tropical rainforests which are located thousands of miles or kilometers away from home. These forests are now facing rapid deforestation.

Every minute, people living near the forest cut the trees as very profitable commodity for their economy. There has to be a good alternative for supporting the economy of the people living around the tropical rain forest. One of them is eco-tourism. But eco-tourism and tropical rainforest preservation have to go hand in hand.

Caving in Rainforest of Table mountains with Belgian tourists

In Manokwari town of West Papua, there is a small group of forest lovers who try to attract the attention of foreign tourists by providing cheap accommodation and tour into the nearby Table Mountain. The tropical rain forest that covers this mountain is the home of a lot of species of plants and birds such as birds of paradise, kakatoe. An exotic but nearly extinct reptile - the green tree python also lives there.
If you begin your journey in morning, you will find various colors and unique forms of mushrooms that emerge from the decaying woods, twigs and leaves on the ground. You might stop for a moment to take some pictures of these mushrooms. While you are busy taking pictures of these beautiful soft plants, you can easily hear the twittering sounds of birds dancing on the branches of green trees. To take the pictures of those beautiful birds, you need a good digital camera that is equipped with tele-lenses.
After taking pictures of the mushrooms or the birds, you can continue walking deeper into the jungle of Papuan rain forest. There are several natural caves in this Table Mountain. They cannot easily be found by tourists. You need local guide like me if you want to see them. I can accompany you to explore the caves to see how exotic lizards and small bats live there.
You need at least three days to cover all the area of the rain forest of Table Mountain of Manokwari. After completing the trip, you will feel that the rain forest is not only important to your life but also to animals, birds, and insects that thrive in it. The better you know about the tropical rain forest, the more you will appreciate and protect it. Written by Charles Roring
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