Out of the city, into the woods

Despite the gorgeous views, most urban dwellers would probably find themselves feeling out of place in a remote forest far from the madding crowd.

Last week, a group of journalists from Jakarta found themselves in just that situation. Invited to try out the Sony DVD handycam DCR-DVD201, which was used to take the photographs on this page, they headed to secluded Citalahab hamlet in Mount Halimun National Park in Sukabumi, West Java.

A five-hour drive from Jakarta, along unpaved roads only passable by two-wheel drive vehicles, brought them to the hamlet, home to about 50 people. Most work in the nearby tea plantation although teenagers help out as tourist guides.

Consisting of 40,000 hectares and with plans to increase it to more than 113,000 hectares, the densely forested park is home to some of the rarest animals in Java, including the Javan gibbon, Javan eagle, clouded leopard and muntjac deer.

Japanese and Indonesian researchers built a 100-meter-long canopy trail snaking through the jungle, which has become a favorite of tourists from here and abroad. It is hoped that their presence will help preserve the largest among the few remaining forested areas on the island of Java.

-- Text and photos by R. Berto Wedhatama