Exploring the World-Class Ecotourism of Tanjung Puting

PANGKALAN BUN – Hundreds of people gathered at the Kumai Dock in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, the starting point for exploring Tanjung Puting National Park. The visitors included local residents, domestic tourists, and many foreign nationals from various countries. They were divided into tour groups managed by agents offering open trip and private trip packages. Domestic tourists generally opt for one-day open trip packages due to time and cost considerations compared to private trips. After a briefing on procedures and regulations for visiting Tanjung Puting National Park, tourists were transported by motorboat or water bus sailing along the Sekonyer River towards the orangutan conservation centre. There are approximately 170 motorboats, known locally as klotok, serving tourism to Tanjung Puting National Park. Some boats are designed more like floating hotels with complete facilities such as beds, lounging areas, sofas, and dedicated dining rooms. These vessels are typically used by tourists on multi-day packages who spend the night within the national park area. The tourist boats sail slowly in procession along the Sekonyer River, which has a distinctive blackish-red colour typical of peat swamp waters. Both sides of the river are filled with characteristic swamp vegetation such as nipah palms, pandanus, and mangrove trees with a very dense canopy. The river journey covers approximately 35 kilometres and takes around four hours, passing several orangutan conservation posts such as Tanjung Harapan, Pondok Tanggui, and Camp Leakey, the oldest research camp in the Tanjung Puting National Park area. The route also passes Sekonyer Village, inhabited by indigenous communities living on the outskirts of the national park, and several resorts along the riverbanks. ‘Visits to Tanjung Puting National Park are busy throughout the year, both from domestic and foreign tourists. Visitor numbers reached around 30,000 throughout 2025. This shows that Tanjung Puting National Park, with its flagship orangutan conservation tourism, is a world-class destination,’ said Roy, a travel agent from Red Monkey affiliated with Borneo Top Holiday. Tanjung Puting National Park is the first conservation area in Indonesia established to protect the orangutan species (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii). The park covers an area of 415,000 hectares, comprising the Tanjung Puting Wildlife Reserve, production forest, and a marine area. Besides orangutans, the park is home to key species such as the proboscis monkey and the hawksbill turtle. It represents the most important wetland area in Central Kalimantan, functioning as a water reservoir and maintaining the hydrological, biological, and ecological processes of the peat ecosystem and its biodiversity. Tanjung Puting was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977. Although the habitat is maintained and the population numbers in the thousands, orangutans are not guaranteed to be seen daily at the conservation camps or feeding sites. A tour guide explained that at certain times, orangutans do not come to the feeding platforms, preferring to forage in the forest during the fruiting season. However, tourists can easily spot troops of macaques and proboscis monkeys swinging in the mangrove trees along the Sekonyer River. At night, the riverbanks are lined with tourist boats, mostly carrying foreign visitors who drop anchor to enjoy the exotic night atmosphere of the mangrove forest before resuming their adventure in the national park the next day. A tourist from Makassar who travelled specifically by sea to visit Tanjung Puting expressed hope that the government and the community would continue to preserve the orangutan habitat and the biodiversity that is the icon of Kalimantan tourism.