Indonesia is indeed beautiful. Indonesia is rich in tourist attractions. In every corner of Indonesia, we can find various tourist attractions. Every region in Indonesia must have its own tourist attractions. One of them is in Bontang City, East Kalimantan.
Bontang City is indeed not a city that is famous for its myriad of beauty or tourism. But it turns out this city is quite interesting with what he has in it. There are so many tourist attractions in the city of Bontang that are not widely known by many people. But believe me, what this city has is enough to captivate us. Some of the tourist attractions in Bontang are:
- Kutai National Park (TNK)
The first tourist spot that we will discuss is the Kutai National Park. This park is a mainstay for East Kalimantan, where most or the majority of its territory is in East Kutai Regency, then most of it is located in Bontang City. Meanwhile, the management office of this park is in Bontang City. Apart from being a natural tourist destination, this park is also a place of rehabilitation for orangutans, which are becoming rare from time to time. Apart from being a tourist place, the uni park also has other functions. Some of the functions possessed by this park are as a campsite, research, and also nature education. Kutai National Park has an area of about 200 thousand hectares with forests of different types. This forest is of course rich in flora and fauna.
Various plants exist in the forest of this park such as mangroves, tancang, sea pine, meranti, Rafflesia flowers, and also various kinds of forest angger. Meanwhile for the type of animal or animals, this park has animals that are dominated by orangutans and the like, namely orangutans, proboscis monkeys, monkeys, Borneo gibbons, long-tailed macaques, and slow lorises. If we want to enter the Kutai National Park, we have to spend IDR 10,000 per person for domestic tourists on weekdays. While on holidays, we spend Rp. 15,000 per person. However, for foreign tourists, the entrance ticket price on weekdays is Rp. 200,000,- per person and on holidays it is Rp. 300,000,- per person. The price is quite cheap is not it? This place is very suitable to be used as a family tourist destination, especially for those of you who have family members with children.
- Wet Rice Island
Wet Rice Island is a tourist location that must be visited while in the city of Bontang. It’s not complete to visit the city of Bontang without taking the time to visit this tourist spot. This beautiful island is a paradise for Bontang City and is also very popular among tourists, both domestic and foreign tourists who have visited the city of Taman. For those of you who are tired of the urban atmosphere as well as the dense, busy, and noisy industry, then Neras Island is a very appropriate alternative destination. This is because this island has clear seas with calm waves and is combined with very white sand, as white as rice.
The waves on the coast of this island are classified as calm waves that invite anyone to be able to linger in the water on the coast of this island. Not only that, the underwater scenery seems to be able to be peeked from above because the water is so clear. The origin of the name of this island is said to have been a ship carrying rice anchored on this island. For fear of sailing because of the waves, the cargo was unloaded on this island, and then the unloaded rice became wet because of the waves. So this became the name for this island, namely Wet Rice. The hallmark of this Beras Basah island is the existence of a white lighthouse that does not know when it was built. To reach the island of Rice Wet, we have to go through about an hour from the city of Bontang.
- Bontang Kuala
Bontang Kuala is not a kind of park where the koala is a cute animal. However, this Bontang koala is a water village which is often also called a fishing village. Bontang Kuala is another mainstay of this Bontang city. The most interesting part of this city is the location of the village that floats on the water. Even though Bontang Kuala is a fishing village, it is not like most fishing villages which look slum. Bontang Kuala actually looks neat and clean. There are even cool hangout spots.
If we want to explore this island, then it is recommended to just walk. Or if the distance is far enough, you can only use a motorbike. This is because in this place four-wheeled vehicles are not allowed to operate. And instead provided a special parking space there. Access to the koala bontang is also not difficult. We only need about 10 minutes drive to the east of Bontang city by motorized vehicle. We can find very good views here. In addition to the scenery, we can also hunt for culinary tours in this place, including Bontang culinary specialties, which are mostly processed from the sea, such as grilled fish.
- Kaba Bay
The next tourist destination in Bontang City is Teluk Kaba. Kaba Bay is part of the Kutai National Park. Teluk kaba offers a special attraction for people who have a brave and adventurous soul.
In Kaba Bay, various interesting outdoor activities are often carried out such as camping, snorkeling, fishing, and trekking, as well as forest exploring activities. If you are indeed challenged to do these things, the choice to travel in Kaba Bay can be a very fitting choice.
- Marina Beach
Marina Beach is one of the beaches in Bontang City. Marina Beach is located in the area south of Bontang City. The main function of this Marina beach is to become a port used by PT Badak NGL for the purposes of loading and unloading tankers. Initially this beach was not a tourist spot that was opened to the public, but a tourist spot that was devoted to families and employees.
However, with the passage of time, this tourist spot was finally opened to the public. Marina Beach is indeed interesting. Besides the beach is clean and has white sand, on this Marina beach there are also many pine trees around the beach.
- Selangan and Tihi-tihi Desa Villages
The villages of Selangan and Tihitihi are one of the unique tourist destinations. This place is a cage tourism destination. This place is located in the middle of the Makassar Strait. In this village, traditional fishermen cultivate seaweed so that there is a lot of seaweed in this village and it is the staple food of this village.
The seaweed harvest is marketed to Surabaya, Jakarta, and some are also exported to Japan. To be able to reach this place, it takes about 45 minutes by boat.
- Gusung Island
Gusung Island is one of the tourist attractions in Bontang City which is located north of Bontang City and is about 6 miles in the middle of the sea. To reach this island we can ride a speed boat for 20 to 25 minutes. This speed boat charter is located at Loktuan Harbor, Tanjung Limau Harbor, and at Bontang Koala. While on the way to Gusung Island, tourists can see the refinery or fertilizer processing factory in East Kalimantan. If we travel at night, the view of the refinery will be very interesting because of the lively neon lights used for factory lighting.
Gusung Island is an island inhabited by about 300 families with their livelihood as traditional fishermen. The daily activities of traditional fishermen on Gusung Island include fishing, catching fish, and also catching fish using a tool, namely a trap. However, it is very unfortunate because the tourist facilities on this island are still very small. On this island there is only Tombat harbor with a posyandu owned rest that visitors can use to rest while burning sea fish. Currently, Gususng Island has a beach volleyball court created by a local NGO. However, as a supporting factor towards this area, it is easy to find a means of transportation in the form of a chartered speed boat that is easy to find everywhere.
- Cibodas Park
Cibodas Park is a park located in the area or industrial area of PT. East Kalimantan fertilizer. During holidays, this park is visited by many people as a place of recreation because this park is easily accessible by any vehicle.
In this park there are already several recreational facilities such as a children’s playground, a stage for family dining, seats that can be rotated, several statues of several types of animals, and also two preserved objects, namely airplanes and speed boats.
Other attractions
In addition to having tourist destinations in the form of tourist attractions, Bontang is also famous for having various attractions that attract tourists to see it. These attractions are part of the culture of the land of Bontang which is a special attraction. Some of the typical Bontang cultures include:
- Harboring the Boat – Melbuh boat is a unique type of ceremony. This ceremony is carried out by making a miniature ship and then the miniature is washed away. This ceremony is carried out in the month of Mulud after the harvest season. The purpose of this ceremony is to expel various diseases from the village. The ceremonial procession begins with the entry of the handler into the arena and then dances to the accompaniment of traditional musical instruments including gongs, gelintang, and drums until the handler is possessed by a spirit and dances around the babalai.
- Throwing Ances – Throwing Ance is also called Salo Mapeno which means throwing offerings into the river. The ceremony to dispose of Ance is carried out when there is a child who is often sick because of being disturbed by his twin brother who is a crocodile. This ceremony is believed by local residents as a cultural heritage from their ancestors which should be preserved.
- Wedding ceremony – Wedding ceremonies do exist in every area. But sometimes there are things that make a wedding ceremony unique from one another. As is the case in Bontang. The ceremony in Bontang is unique because it begins with Beririsi, Berongsong, then the final stage, namely the marriage contract.
- Erau Pelas Continent, Guntung –Guntung is the name of an area in Bontang City. The majority of the population of this area is the Kutai community, which is directly adjacent to East Kutai. Erau pelas is the name of a ceremony. This name consists of two words namely Erau or Eroh which means crowded or full of joy. While pelas means cleaning the area of negative elements. This ceremony is carried out by slaughtering an animal and then its blood is sprinkled on the earth as a sign of gratitude for the gift of God Almighty.
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