Pangrango Nat. Park closes temporarily

Pangrango Nat. Park closes temporarily

BOGOR: In a bid to allow the natural ecosystem time to
recover, Pangrango National Park will temporarily close the
conservation area located on Mount Gede Pangrango starting on
Aug. 17.

The action was taken to anticipate forest fires during the dry
season that starts this month.

Pangrango National Park head Nopianto Bambang said that the
three main entrances to the park -- Gunung Putri, Selabintana
Sukabumi and Cibodas -- would be closed to the public.

"Climbers and mountain trackers usually enter the park on Aug.
17 to celebrate Independence Day at Suryakencana square at the
peak of the mountain," he said.

Nopianto added that the park had been scheduled for closing
four times a year -- in January, February, March and August --
since 2003.

Nopianto said that the park was the home of several rare
animals like the Javanese eagle, which were often illegally
hunted. "We are also trying to prevent illegal hunting here," he
said. -- JP