Ujung Kulon National Park Travel Guide
Ujung Kulon National Park is a sizeable park in the southwest of West Java. It encompasses both the mainland and the volcanic Krakatau island group, along with Handeuleum and Peucang.
Ujung Kulon National Park was actually Indonesia’s first national park and was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992. It has Java’s largest remaining lowland rainforest and is also home to the endangered Javan rhinoceros, of which there are only a few dozen of these prehistoric-looking animals left.
The region was obliterated by the Krakatau eruption of 1883, which included a subsequent 40m tsunami crashing into the mainland. This event, however, caused the region to revert back to forest after it had previously been extensively farmed.
Permits for Ujung Kulon National Park can be obtained at the national park office in Labuhan town. Permits can also be obtained in Tamanjaya, 30kms east of Labuhan. The only accommodation on the island part of the park is on Handeuleum and Peucang islands. Krakatau itself is uninhabited due to its still-active volcanic nature.