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INDONESIA: West Java & Sumatra? (1 Viewer)

xav

Well-known member
Hello everybody
I'm planning to visit Indonesia this summer for birdwatching. I was wondering if you could give me useful informations about birding sites (location, how to reach, hotels, local guides,...) in Western Java & Southern Sumatra. Especially Gunung KERINCI national park & Bukit Barisan Selatan NP (Sumatra). Thanks in advenace for the answers!
Xavier
 
my old 'local' patches!

I wouldn't miss Way Kambas for the world either. It's in Bandar Lampung at the south tip of Sumatra. You can get a ferry from Merak in West Java.

Also Carita in West Java

Ujung Kulon in West Java

Gunung Gede national park in West Java

Bogor Botanical Gardens in West Java

Muara Angke in Jakarta for Sunda Coucal - bit of a hell hole if it's you're first visit but got to be done!!!

Paul Jepson's Birding Indonesia has all the acess details to all the sites mentioned. It's not a place where you can get guides easily though. They don't really do that sort of thing in West Java/Sumatra... especially not ones that would be much of a help with the birding although Freddy's son Indrah (and Adam if he's around) are both very knowlegable of the birds on Pangrango, great people and would accompany you in the field (maybe show you a Javan Hawk Eagle nest too!). Freddy's is THE place to stay at Pangrango / Cibodas. Lovely bloke, he used to work with Hoogerwerf who did so much work on the birds of Java in the 40s and 50s etc

If u need more specific advice later drop me a PM

atb
Tim
 
Hello Tim
Thanks for the infos! Have you already been to Kerinci National Park? If you did, would you recommend me Kerinci or Way Kambas if i can visit only one of these 2 sites?
:)
Xavier


Tim Allwood said:
my old 'local' patches!

I wouldn't miss Way Kambas for the world either. It's in Bandar Lampung at the south tip of Sumatra. You can get a ferry from Merak in West Java.

Also Carita in West Java

Ujung Kulon in West Java

Gunung Gede national park in West Java

Bogor Botanical Gardens in West Java

Muara Angke in Jakarta for Sunda Coucal - bit of a hell hole if it's you're first visit but got to be done!!!

Paul Jepson's Birding Indonesia has all the acess details to all the sites mentioned. It's not a place where you can get guides easily though. They don't really do that sort of thing in West Java/Sumatra... especially not ones that would be much of a help with the birding although Freddy's son Indrah (and Adam if he's around) are both very knowlegable of the birds on Pangrango, great people and would accompany you in the field (maybe show you a Javan Hawk Eagle nest too!). Freddy's is THE place to stay at Pangrango / Cibodas. Lovely bloke, he used to work with Hoogerwerf who did so much work on the birds of Java in the 40s and 50s etc

If u need more specific advice later drop me a PM

atb
Tim
 
impossible to pick between the two

There are more birds in Kambas in general - White-winged Wood Duck, Bonaparte's Nightjar, Hornbills, more bulbuls and babblers etc as it's lowland forest but Kerinci has Sumatran Cochoa, Schneider's Pitta and some real megas. Way Kambas is easier to do also. But there are Tigers!!!

James Eaton of Bird Forum is there at the moment and he will have some excellent advice on his return i'm sure.
 
Another park which might be worth visiting on Sumatra is Bukit Barisan Selatan a 365,000 ha park in the southern part of Bukit Barisan Mountain Range, I was there in this 1991, mainly becuase I got a friend which lives in Krui (a city west of park), but as he a big fan of birds we spend a few days walking in Bukit Barisan Selatan, saw some 200+ bird species during just a few days. The park is also a perfect place to see loads of mammals, and they are much easier to see here than in most other parts of Sumatra.

My friend Lumuko Bari still lives in Kuri and I could give his adress in Kuri if you decide to visit this region. He is also a very good guide and very cheap, he mainly does it for the plessure of guiding people.
 
Hello
I would be highly interested to get the contact of your friend in Buki Barisan Selatan. I saw in "Birding Indonesia" that this park is full of birds, and you just confirmed it. And it's pretty close to Western Java.
Here's my email: [email protected]
Thanks a lot! :-O
Xavier


Papuan birder said:
Another park which might be worth visiting on Sumatra is Bukit Barisan Selatan a 365,000 ha park in the southern part of Bukit Barisan Mountain Range, I was there in this 1991, mainly becuase I got a friend which lives in Krui (a city west of park), but as he a big fan of birds we spend a few days walking in Bukit Barisan Selatan, saw some 200+ bird species during just a few days. The park is also a perfect place to see loads of mammals, and they are much easier to see here than in most other parts of Sumatra.

My friend Lumuko Bari still lives in Kuri and I could give his adress in Kuri if you decide to visit this region. He is also a very good guide and very cheap, he mainly does it for the plessure of guiding people.
 
Hi Xavier,

I've just returned from a 3 week trip to Sumatra. Superb birding, though struggled with some species due to time of year (ie, no cohoa singing). Choosing between Kambas and Kerinci is a hard one as they are both so different. If you've already visited Malaysia and Borneo before, then go to Kerinci area. Though Way Kambas in unrivalled in terms of nightbirding, though watch out for the Tigers (saw fresh prints on Kerinci, first time they've been recorded there for a long time). Kerinci area is outstanding, if your on your own birds such as Schneider's Pitta shouldn't be a problem. Bukit Tapan/Mauro Sako nearby is superb roadside birding at a lower altitude, and the bottom at 300m asl shares many species with Way Kambas.

Bukit Barisan Selatan is great birding, though the best bits are currently off limits as they are researching there. The road to Krui as mentioned still provides excellent birding, or try Sukaraja, the site of the Sumatran Ground-cuckoo in 1997, the forest still remains largely untouched there. Contact Nick Brickle in Bogor for information, see Oriental Birding Yahoo forum for his address. He works for WCS in Bukit Barisan Selatan so can provide plenty of info.

Whatever you do, it will be a magically trip!
 
HI James
thanks for the answer! I've never been to Indonesia nor Malaysia before. I only went twice to Asia: Thailand last summer and Northern India last winter. I'm planning to visit Western Java for approx. 1 week then fly to northern Sulawesi (Wartabone, Gunung Ambang & Tangkoko) and then going to Sumatra... I still don't know where i'll go o Simatra but i saw that Air Asia does cheap flight tickets to Padang, so i'll probably go to Gunung Kerinci. The site seems easy to visit (??) with the help of the owner of the Pak Subandi homestay (fro what i read in trip reports). Do you know what's the easiest option to go from Padang (airport) to Kerinci?
:)
Xavier


James Eaton said:
Hi Xavier,

I've just returned from a 3 week trip to Sumatra. Superb birding, though struggled with some species due to time of year (ie, no cohoa singing). Choosing between Kambas and Kerinci is a hard one as they are both so different. If you've already visited Malaysia and Borneo before, then go to Kerinci area. Though Way Kambas in unrivalled in terms of nightbirding, though watch out for the Tigers (saw fresh prints on Kerinci, first time they've been recorded there for a long time). Kerinci area is outstanding, if your on your own birds such as Schneider's Pitta shouldn't be a problem. Bukit Tapan/Mauro Sako nearby is superb roadside birding at a lower altitude, and the bottom at 300m asl shares many species with Way Kambas.

Bukit Barisan Selatan is great birding, though the best bits are currently off limits as they are researching there. The road to Krui as mentioned still provides excellent birding, or try Sukaraja, the site of the Sumatran Ground-cuckoo in 1997, the forest still remains largely untouched there. Contact Nick Brickle in Bogor for information, see Oriental Birding Yahoo forum for his address. He works for WCS in Bukit Barisan Selatan so can provide plenty of info.

Whatever you do, it will be a magically trip!
 
Hi Xavier,

Hope you get this in time. You can hire a vehicle (Toyota Innova) for 300,000 rupiah direct to Pak Subandi's, 5 1/2 hours at any time of the night or day. If you speak no bhasa this will be increased to 500,000, still very cheap compared to elsewhere in the world. Alternatively get a bus from Padang City (30 mins from airport) to Kerinci, leaves in the evenings and mornings.

You can fly Padang to Jakarta for under 250,000 with Lion Air too, book at Padang Airport. Air Asia is great, just expect a 30 minute delay, in over 10 flights this year every one has been 30 minutes late for me!

Expect great birding at both Kerinci and nearby Bukit Tapan, Subhandi is great, wonderful guy and so helpful, if you PM me I can pass on his phone number, he speaks good english now.

You'll really enjoy North Sulawesi too, though maybe skip Dumoga Bone and invest the time at Tangkoko instead, the site has declined rapidily in the last 2 years. If you need further info, PM me.
 
Thanks for all the great info James. It's great to know there's folks in this world who go out of their way to help each other out.
 
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