Way Kambas National Park is located at the southern tip of Sumatra or 110
km from Bandar Lampung. Way Kambas National Park is one of the first and oldest
National Park in Indonesia. The park occupies 1,300 km square of coastal
lowland forest around the Way Kambas River on the east coast of Lampung
Province.
Way Kambas National Park is known as elephant conservation, because in
addition to being a protection for Sumatran elephants, this national park is
also known as their training ground.Way Kambas was founded by the Dutch
government in 1937 until now it is still preserve as a National Park and here
it is believed there are about 200 Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus
sumatranensis) live in the National Park.
Way Kambas is Frindly Home for Sumatran elephant
The Sumatran elephant is one of three subspecies that unite from the Asian elephant, which is a native animal from the island of Sumatra. Asian elephants are smaller with African elephants. Among the Asian elephants, Sumatran elephants are a continuous, with shoulder height ranging between 2 meters and 3.2 meters.
Nowadays it is
very difficult to estimate the amount because the encroachment and expansion of
forest land is getting out of control.
In addition to
the conservation of elephants, here also conservation of Sumatran rhinoceros
and Rhino Sanctuary facility. Unfortunately to be able to see this Sumatran
rhino must have special permission before. Visitors or regular tourists can not
see the natural breeding of this Sumatran rhinoceros.
In addition, Way Kambas National Park is also home to many exotic flora. Among them are: Avicennia marina, Sonneratia sp, Nypa fruticans, Melaleuca leucadendron, Syzygium polyanthum, Glochidion borneensis, Terminalia cattapa, Casuarina equisetifolia, Pandanus sp, Schima wallichii, Shorea sp, Dipterocarpus gracilis, and Gonystylus bancanus.
The price of entering the national park there are two namely to the
conservation of elephants and to the Way Kanan resort, to go into the
conservation of your elephant will cost you about IDR 20,000 per person. If you
want to go to the right way resort where there is Sumatran Rhinoceros breeding,
you must obtain an entry permit at the price of IDR 30.000 per person. For
foreign tourists the entrance price can be up to twice the price of local
tourists
For the researchers, the area of way kambas is equipped with an attractive
natural laboratory. In addition, at this location we can get lodging in the
form of a resort with a rate of IDR 200.000 / Room that provides attractive
tour packages for tourists followed by the river by using a motor boat with a
capacity of 6-7 people with the price of
IDR (750.000-1.500.000).
If you use public transportation, the simplest route is to take a bus from Rajabasa Terminal in Bandar Lampung to Way Jepara. Get off at the Gajah Batu in Rajabasa Lama Desa, Way Jepara, and continue on the "Ojek" or take a motorbike taxi to Way Kanan or the Elephant Training Center, which is the entrance to Way Kambas National Park. Please note that the last direct bus back to Rajabasa Lama is back at 15.00 Western Indonesia Time, and it would be better if you arrive before dusk, since "Ojek" will not drive you there after this time. The entire journey will take about 2-3 hours. Alternatively, from Bandar Lampung, you can take a bus to Metro and then another bus to Rajabasa Lama which also takes about 2-3 hours.
If you use or rent a car, from Bandar Lampung take the road to the north of
Kota Bumi and follow the elephant serial signs that will easily take you to Way
Kambas National Park. It is possible to hire a taxi from Bandar Lampung to Way
Kambas but much more expensive. From Bandar Lampung to Lampung regency east,
the road is relatively in good condition. However, as you enter the Sukadana
area, the journey will bump up a bit since some parts of the road are in bad condition.
From Way Jepara market to entrance of Way Kambas National Park bad road
condition along 5 km.
Several lodgings are located around the Way Kambas National Park:
- Satwa Sumatran Elephant Ecolodge
- Way Kanan Resort
- Pusat Pelatihan Gajah
- Way Kambas National Park Camping Ground
- YESTOYA Club House Hotel
