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The Tangkahan! We couldn't believe our luck on March 16th that we were
discovering the beautiful of hidden paradise Tangkahan forest, In order to enhance
our skill in the field trip project under the Bandung Institute of Tourism. We found
Abang Ika through our initial research for this trip. We were told he was passionate
about ecotourism and how tirelessly he worked to rebuild and educate local society
on why it is so important to conserve and protect our heritage forest. It wasn't until
we read further that we learnt about ecotourism definition and attraction until his
conservation area of Tangkahan forest, located in Batang Serangan District Langkat
Regency, in North Sumatra Province.
This time in a team of five, we flew from Bandung to one of the largest city
in Indonesia called Medan then continued taken off a local bus. It took about five
hours to reach this place after landing on airport in the afternoon. We arrived at
Tangkahan in the evening where we stayed for overnight. Tangkahan often referred
to as a hidden paradise in Sumatra, the reason is if you want to reach this place you
need approximately four until five hours to Tangkahan besides oil palm crops will
accompanied you alongside the road with a rocky and dusty sensation.
As a tropical region North Sumatra has a temperature about 28 to 32 C
where the rainy season comes from September to January and Dry season comes
from February to August. With dense forest topography and its impressive
Tangkahan, it makes this village become remarkable tourist destination. The
panorama forest of the village will greet you when you waking up in the morning,
like birds singing, river stream of Batang Serangan until the horn of elephant trunk.
Mount Leuser National Park is one of the areas which have numerous
primates with various species in the world as well as a home to several species of
endangered animals. It is estimated around 89 endangered species and protected by
Mount Leuser National Park such as Sumatran tiger, Sumatran orangutan,
In the past time this forest of National Park frequently becomes illegal
dislodgement area during 1900 to 2000 becomes a great attention because of human
illegal logging wealth in several area which misapplied the reservation territory at
the moment. Nowadays the forest has changed into wildlife protection area. In
2004, it was a pride moment for local society since it accepted not only becomes
one of the world rain tropical forest sites of Sumatra but also claimed of the Mount
Figure 2. Batang serangan river and Getek a kinds of boat to across the river
Source: March 2015 Achmad Rifqi
After achieving World Heritage Site in 2004. Tangkahan still has problems
to develop the area into ecotourism concept. The local society was the main key of
the successful Tangkahan growth. Illegal logging prohibition made most people of
Tangkahan becomes unemployment since it was a main do for living for them.
Local institution and government pushed hard the society to stop illegal logging
cases by educate why it is vital to conserve forest and how benefits developing
ecotourism destination in Tangkahan.
The government efforts on spreading the words and make a difference on
changing the habits of illegal loging and how potential it is to develop ecotourism
from one village to other village was not futile. In 2011 it was established an
organization that manage and monitor the activities of Tangkahan forest. LPT
3|Bandung Institute of Tourism
contribution from government and local community programs more people know
both management system and financial.
In 2001, no visitor found in Tangkahan either domestic or foreign tourist.
Four years later tourists tourist start to travel to Tangkahan up to 4000 visitors
where every single tourist consumes approximately 1.5 million with a total income
8 billion per year.
Tourist must not forced to do the attraction in Tangkahan but the rangers
will offer them which activity they want it and suitable to their skill and interest.
Come and meet elephant together with rangers called Mahout, patrolling and
tracking across the forest to control illegal logging and poaching.
Explore and feel the sensation of adventure trip in the real forest. Passing an
axtreme track through climbing a sludge track to encounter the exotic species where
its home for them. Tourist might using elephant for tracking where you are going to
have a different sensation by sitting up to the elephant. How fantastic it is!
You can jump and swim from higher stone into the clear and fresh water of
Batang Serangan river. Feel the atmosphere of leisure time hided from the city life.
Tourist can get unique sensation not only visiting elephant camp but also washing
elephant in the river, you might reach the Conservation Response Unit (CRU) about
15-20 minutes by walking from Tangkahan. One thing you should remember that
you can get a nature spa and massage under the water fall of Buluh river. There is a
small water fall close to the river in the forest. If you have an extra energy you could
travel to the bigger one of water fall about an hour heading up to Buluh river. You
should try this one!
Alongside the road you can find the oil palm crops as it is one of the main
occupation of local people, worked for privat oil palm companies such as PT.
Nusantara II (Persero) and PT. Pertamina. With a numbers of wild elephant enter
the crops and the impact is increasing the human-elephant conflict.
Mostly it is because of the missunderstand of the wild habitate elephant between the
border of plantation.
The boundary between wild forest and oil palm plantations should be made
possible in order to avoid such human-elephant conflict and understanding of
elephants and their habitats need to be held to educate the community related so do
not assume the elephant as a pest for their garden.
As we know that human-elephant conflict often occurs due to the prompting
the land of oil palm plantation so that it can be inviting a numbers of elephant
comes in that area. Elephants have been known to raid agricultural fieldssometimes eating their way through an entire harvest in a single night. Elephants
love to eat cultivated crops like rice. The conflict also took a number victim even
deadly both in human and elephant.
Figure 5. Ranges conduct elephants to go to river by making a line.
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5. Do not drive in a way surprising, since the main aim to prevent not the cash
out. As you know elephants are not only a cultural icon throughout Asia,
they also help to maintain the integrity of forest and grassland habitats.
6. Always stay in a higher place when eye to eye to elephant, and make a
distance not too close to the elephant. Elephant trunks contain as many as
150.000 muscles; the trunk can pick up a single blade of grass or rip off a
tree branch. They might be kicked you with only a trunks. Pay attention if
you find the wild elephant.
7. It is very important to watch out their ears because of an elephant will
uphold the ear when it comes to human. They also need to think what they
should do in case of disturbed. Keep away and wait until elephants flick
their ears. When it quiets you can do an expulsion.
8. Make room for the elephants can move and find the right direction to get
out. Avoid using a bright colors t-shirt.
9. The last but not least, basically elephant expulsion is based on sound.
However, the source of sound needs to be careful to do effectively. The
sound must be hard but not frequently in order to avoid elephants become
panic and run. WWF teaches villagers how to harmlessly deter elephants
from crops through the use of Bombs made from a mixture of water,
elephant dung and crushed chilies. When burned, the mixture irritates an
elephant's trunk and keeps the animal away.
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