Rainforest in West Papua as Tourist Attractions

Tropical rain forest in West Papua is a very rich environment. It is the natural habitat of thousands of species of insects, birds, mammals, reptiles as well as plants. It attracts the attention of tourists, nature lovers, students, and researchers to visit it and see its wealth of plants and animals. Rainforest has now become an interesting tourist attractions. 

Mangrove forest in Wondama regency

The kind of tourism that I mean here is an alternative tourism. It is not a mass tourism. For instance, based on my experience, the average number of visitors per group is between 2 and 8. They travel from Europe, North America, Australia, India, China to watch birds, mammals, reptiles; and see unique plants in the forest. There are other tourists who are interested in insects or only butterflies.

Lower Montane Forest in Wondama regency

There are also tourists who want to see types of rainforest based on their elevations measured from sea level such as Mangrove forest and lowland forest, to lower montane and higher montane or cloud forest. 

There are a few destinations in West Papua province of Indonesia which have such ecosystems. One of them is Wondama regency. It has got almost complete rainforest ecosystems. The regency has got islands, coastal area, hills, and mountains that are covered by pristine rainforest. 

The regency of Wondama has got a lot of islands that are covered by rainforest. They can also be visited by tourists. Coral reef in the waters of these islands are the natural habitat of various species of marine animals and plants. After exploring the wealth of biodiversity of the islands, visitors can enjoy swimming and snorkeling to see the marine life in coral reef of Wondama. Coral reef is sometimes called by people as the rainforest of the ocean. And we need to preserve it too.

Tropical rainforest of West Papua is unique because it is the natural habitat of various species of marsupial animals. Some of them include cuscus possum, bandicoot, and wallaby. Most of them are nocturnal animals and can be seen when we do night walk in the jungle.

If you are interested in taking a tour to rainforest to see its plants and animals, you could contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to +6281332245180.