- Address: Wamena, Papua Province, Western half of the island of New Guinea, Indonesia
- Phones: +62 969 34098, +62 967 581596
- E-mail: lorentz.btn@gmail.com
- Address of the park administration: Jl. SD Percobaan Potikelek, Wamena, 99511, Kotak Pos 176, Jayawijaya, Papua, Indonesia
- Year of foundation: 1997
- Area: 25056 sq. M. km
- Cost of visit: free of charge
In the eastern part of the island of New Guinea, the Lorenz National Park is located on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is the largest nature protection area in the Asia-Pacific region, its area is 25 056 square meters. km. The unique diversity of the ecosystems of the park and its inhabitants attracts many tourists to Lorentz, even though it is not easy to get to it.
general information
Its name was given to the park in honor of the Dutch traveler Hendrik Lorenz, who was the head of the expedition to explore this area in 1909-1910. In 1919, the Dutch colonial government installed a natural monument of Lorenz 3000 square meters. km. The expansion of the nature conservation area occurred in 1978, when the Indonesian government recognized a 21,500 sq. m.
The title of national park with an area of 25 056 square meters. km Lorentz received already in 1997; The reserve also includes marine and coastal areas. In 1999, the territory of the park was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (minus 1,500 sq. Km, which is the property of a geological survey company).
Today the park is managed by a management organization, whose headquarters are located in Vanem. The staff of the organization is about 50 people.
Natural Areas
Park Lorenz accommodates all ecosystems that exist in Indonesia - from the marine, tidal and mangrove - to the Alpine tundra and the equatorial glacier. To date, 34 species of plant biotopes have been registered in the park. Here you can find mangroves and bushes, ferns and mosses, tall and short stalks, deciduous trees, carnivorous plants and many other species of flora.
The highest point of the park is Punchak-Jaya Mountain. Its height is 4884 m above sea level.
Fauna of the park
Species diversity of the inhabitants of the reserve is amazing. Only birds here are more than 630 species - this is more than 70% of the varieties of feathered inhabitants of Papua. These include:
- more than 30 kinds of pigeons;
- 31 species of cockatoos;
- almost 30 species of Nectarine birds;
- 12 species of kingfishers;
- 2 types of cassowaries, including the shattered cassowary included in the Red Book.
Here live such endangered species of birds as the striped duck, eagle parrot, etc.
The animal world of the park is also quite diverse. Here you can find Australian echidna and proehidnu, forest cat and couscous, ordinary and wood wallaby - all more than 120 species of mammals. At the same time, there are still a lot of "white spots" left in the park - unexplored places that can hide the species of animals that have not yet been studied by science. For example, dingiso, one of the species of tree kangaroos, was discovered only in 1995 (it is an endemic animal of the park).
The population of the park
In the territories where the nature reserve is today, the first settlements appeared 25,000 years ago. Today Lorentz is home to 8 tribes, including Asmat, tribute (ndane), ndug, amungma. According to the latest data, about 10 thousand people live on the territory of the national park.
How and when to visit the park?
Lorenz can be visited free of charge. However, in order to get to its territory, you must first obtain permission from the administration of the park. It is not recommended to visit the park alone or with a small unaccompanied group. It is best to come here from mid-August to the end of December.
The most convenient way to get to the park is from Jakarta by plane to Jayapura (the flight lasts 4 hours 45 minutes), from there fly to Vamena (the duration of the flight is 30 minutes) or to Timika (1 hour). And from Timika, and from Vamena to one of the Papuan villages, you will also have to fly on a rented plane, from where you can get a motorcycle to the village of Suangama, where you can already hire guides and porters.
It should be noted that getting to the park is long and difficult, because of what the number of visitors here is insignificant. Most of the visitors are mountaineers, who make an ascent to Punchak-Jaya.