Gunung Palung National Park, National park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Gunung Palung National Park covers 108,043.90 hectares in West Kalimantan's Kayong Utara and Ketapang regencies, spanning five districts. Its centrepiece is Mount Palung, 1,116 metres high, and the terrain runs from mangrove and freshwater swamp forest through lowland alluvial forest to montane forest. A research station, Cabang Panti, sits at the western foot of the main mountains.
The area was first protected in 1937 as a forest reserve of about 300 square kilometers and received national park status in 1990. This change reflected growing recognition of the ecosystem's importance for conservation efforts.
Since 2003, villagers around the park have formed OPMU (Orangutan Protection & Monitoring Units) to guard orangutans and their habitat, supported in the field by the British conservation group Fauna & Flora International. The name Gunung Palung combines the Indonesian words for mountain and the park's namesake peak.
Visitors should arrange permits in advance and can stay in hotels in Sukadana, jungle camps, or villas in Bukit Paoh. The best time to visit is during drier months when trails are easier to navigate.
The park is home to a substantial population of orangutans living and being studied in their natural habitat. Observing these animals in their wild setting offers a rare chance to see an endangered species in its natural form.
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