TRANS IJEN

SUKAMADE TURTLE TOUR MINIMUN 2 PAX

One of Meru Betiri National Park jewel is the Sukamade Turtle Conservation. Located on the west of Banyuwangi, this place has an experience to offer. It is a natural, quiet, beautiful place and part of the 50,000 hectare Meru Betiri National Park. The Meru Betiri National Park officially came into being in 1982 but Sukamade has had turtle conservation facility since 1972. Since then, nearly 3,000 turtles have been tagged here.

Almost every night of the year, turtles appear on Sukamade beach to lay eggs. It is clearly a globally important site and one which is protected 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by the over-worked park rangers. Some eggs are taken by the rangers to protect them from predators, both human and other animals. These are incubated in the safety of the park hatchery and the youngsters are released to the ocean on the very beach from where the eggs were laid. There are similar beaches within the park boundary but it seems to be Sukamade that the turtles prefer. The stability of the turtle population has been helped by a careful system of tagging and monitoring, as well as the use of the special hatcheries.

The ranger will give you chance to release the baby turtles back to the sea only by giving donation to the conservation. When the babies crawl their way to the ocean, they will map the area to come back and lay eggs when their time comes. You can also peek on how the turtle come at night to lay eggs. The whole process take about 1-2 hour from the moment it dig a deep hole to bury the eggs. One turtle can lay hundred of eggs.

Getting here is also another fun experience. Being inside a deep jungle, we will ride a trooper through the rainforest and rivers. On our way, stop by the beautiful Green Bay Beach, a hidden treasure with soft-white-sand and clear water as green as its name.

Activities During Sukamade Tour :

• Sea turtle laying their eggs on the beach (sukamade turtle tour)
• Visit cocoa, coffee, rubber plantation
• The hatchery facility (young turtle incubation) sukamade turtle conservation
• Relax at Green Bay beach
• See fisherman activity at Rajegwesi beach
• Meru Betiri National Park / Meru Betiri Tour
• Fauna : green sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive ridley turtle and the occasional leatherback and other mamals

Preparation:

• Camera,
• Sport shoes,
• Casual dress (preferred dark-colored dress)
• Mosquitoes repellent lotion
• Flashlight