Why a National Park?
The park was recognised as an area of natural importance in 1917 when the Council of Balinese rulers designated the area a 'Nature Park'. It became an Indonesian national park in 1941 in an effort to protect the Bali minah bird, or starling, which is the only bird endemic to the island. There are a range of landscapes within the park comprising mangrove forest, coastal forest, monsoon forest, lowland rain forest, savannah and sea grass vegetation types. The remains of 4 volcanic mountains dominate the landscape, Gunung Patas being the highest at nearly 1,500 metres.
Flora and Fauna
The park boasts more than 200 species of plants, 14 of which are endangered species. Over 160 species of birds have been recorded in the park including the rare Bali starling - the key reason why this area became a protected area. By 2001 as few as just 6 individuals were thought to survive. Since then captive breeding and re-introduction efforts have increased numbers but poaching remains a problem. A second captive breeding and re-introduction programme was started in the remote areas of Nusa Penida in 2004.
Fauna include the very shy black monkey, macaque monkeys, mouse deer, squirrels, wild boars, leopard cats, iguanas, python and banteng - a species of wild cattle from which the familiar Balinese cows are descended. Java rusa and Indian muntjac, or barking deer, are fairly common. Menjangan Island is named after these animals as 'Menjangan' means deer in Bahasa Indonesia. The last of the Bali tigers, which was a full sub-species of tiger, was shot here in 1937.
The marine reserve has a high bio-diversity in a relatively small area. Scuba diving is regulated here, fishing is not allowed and all marine life is protected. The reefs are mostly in good health with an abundance of sea fans and soft and hard corals. In 1998, 110 species of coral belonging to 18 families were recorded, of which 22 species were of the mushroom coral family (there are only 29 species of mushroom coral recorded worldwide). 27 species of Acropora coral were also found, some of which have a diameter of up to 75 cm.
Conservation Partnerships
The marine park has become an important site for the Climate Change programme of WWF-Indonesia where the impacts of coral bleaching are monitored and used for campaigning purposes to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions in developed countries. The marine programme also provides some support for surveillance against destructive fishing and for establishing strict protection of grouper and other fish spawning sites.
Park Regulations
- All visitors should check in at one of the 2 park offices (PHPA) for information and to purchase permits and arrange guides. The headquarters is at the village of Cekik, just south of Gilimanuk in the west. The other is at Labuan Lalang on the north coast from where the boats to Menjangan Island depart.
- The official permit charge is IRp 25,000 per person. The cost of a guide is negotiable.
- Only a small percentage of the total area of the park is open to visitors. These areas can be explored by hiking or by diving/snorkelling.
- Walking the trails must be done with an official guide from one of the national park offices.
- Boat trips to Menjangan Island can be arranged in advance by your hotel, or by charter on the day you arrive.
- Accommodation - there is one official high end resort inside the boundaries of the national park on the Prapat Agung peninsula. There is no other accommodation inside the park and staying the night is prohibited.
- Camping is not permitted inside the national park, but there is a basic campsite at the park headquarters in Cekik which you can use for a small donation. Facilities include toilets and bathrooms. You need to bring your own tent.
World-class Diving in this Bali Wonderland
For scuba divers, the waters of Menjangan Island are a marine wonderland with an abundance of underwater life. You can see masses of reef fish, parrotfish, clams, nudibranchs, sea fans and various sponges, as well as sea turtles, sharks, rays, eels and large schools of jacks. There are first-class wall dives that begin at the surface and go down to 50m, perfect places for snorkellers as well as all level of divers. The awesome reefs offer drop-offs of 40m to 60m.
Large pelagics are occasionally seen in the marine park including whales, whale sharks and manta rays. Drift diving is usual, but there are no dangerous currents. Although the best diving is said to be between April and November, during the south-east monsoon, you can dive here all year-round as it offers some of the most protected diving in Bali.
How to Get There
Bali Barat National Park is easy accessible from Gilimanuk, the ferry port where ferries to and from Java come and go. Gilimanuk is reached by ferry from Java or by bus from Denpasar or Singaraja. At Cekik and Labuhan Lalang there are park offices run by the park's governing body, the Ministry of Forestry. Here you can pay the permit fee. To reach Menjangan Island you can hire a motorboat from Labuhan Lalang (30-40 minutes).
How You Can Help
As a visitor to Bali Barat National Park, your contribution in the form of the permit fee helps fund the continued protection and patrolling of the area so that this beautiful place and the birds, animals and marine life can be preserved and enjoyed for generations to come.