Taking A Peek At The Karst Batu Putih Cave Tour In Bulungan Kaltara

North Kalimantan Governor Zainal A Paliwang (center) sits on a stone plate in the Batu Putih cave area, Bulungan Regency, Kaltara, Saturday (8/6/2024). (ANTARA/HO-Adpim Kaltara)

North Kalimantan (Kaltara), which is the expansion of East Kalimantan Province (Kaltim), is known to have a large number of karst natural resources. One of the points is a tourist destination for the Karst Batu Putih Cave in Tanjung Palas District, Bulungan Regency.

Karst according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI) is an area consisting of limestone porous so that water on the ground surface always seeps and disappears into the ground (the surface of the soil is always bedbed due to lack of vegetation).

However, the geological name karst is said to be the name of an area on the border betweenide and northeastern Italy, close to the Trieste tourism area. So, the naming of karst comes from a limestone area in thetensive area.

Quoting Antara, Indonesia has a karst area of around 15.4 million hectares and is spread from Aceh to Papua, such as on Mount Leuser (Aceh), the Bahorok hills (West Sumatra), the Pangkep-Maros hills (South Sulawesi), the Cartenz mountains (Papuan) and the Sangkulirang Mountains area - Tanjung Manangkalia (East Kalimantan).

The karst area in Tanjung Palas District, Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan, according to experts, is grouped into three morphological units, namely an alluvial plateau morphology unit, a corrugated plain morphology unit and a karst hilly morphological unit.

Exploring the cave

North Kalimantan Governor Zainal A. Paliwang and his staff carried out an exciting expedition to trace the Karst Batu Putih Cave on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

The journey from Tanjung Selor, the capital city of Bulungan Regency, was taken using a two-wheeled vehicle for approximately 1.5 hours, passing the winding Trans-Kalimantan road and surrounded by a beautiful natural panorama.

Arriving at the location of the tourist attraction in Karang Agung Village, the group entered the cave which was greeted with beautiful stalactites and stalamit, like a stunning natural painting.

The information obtained states that there are seven caves in the area, each cave with its own uniqueness and attraction. To explore all the caves there, it is estimated that it will take a full day.

"These are only three caves and it has taken two and a half hours, not all of them," said Zainal, giving an overview of the time it takes to explore the limestone cave.

The Karst Batu Putih Cave is not only beautiful, but also retains historical and cultural values that should be preserved. The Karst Batu Puth Cave is one of the natural treasures in Kaltara that should be preserved.

Stacks of rock

From Karang Agung Village, exploration was continued to the next village, namely Panca Agung Village, Tanjung Palas Utara District to visit the Batu Piluk natural tourist attraction.

This tourist destination offers a unique and stunning natural charm, namely giant rocks that tower as high as 50 meters arranged neatly in an extraordinary way. Small stones support larger stones.

This beauty is the work of nature for thousands of years, so it often invites curiosity and admiration for visitors.

The beautiful and cool atmosphere surrounds the Batu Pilek area. The shady trees provide shade. Visitors can enjoy this beautiful moment by relaxing under trees, taking pictures with exotic giant rock backgrounds, or even exploring the surrounding area to find other instagramable spots.

Even though it is still relatively new, Batu Pilek has become the prima donna for natural tourism in Bulungan. Access roads that are easy to pass by by motorized vehicles, only takes about an hour and a half from Tanjung Selor, making this place easy for tourists to reach.

However, keep in mind that the Pillar Stone does not yet have culinary facilities. Therefore, visitors must bring their own food and drink supplies.

In addition, visitors are advised to wear comfortable clothing and footwear for tracking, maintaining cleanliness and preserving the surrounding nature, and complying with applicable regulations in tourist areas.

These beautiful forests and rocks are valuable assets. "Let's preserve the nature of Batu Pilk, because the beauty of nature is a gift that we must be grateful for and protect together," said Zainal.

Tourist visits

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Kaltara released June 3, 2024, shows that the number of foreign tourist visits (tourists) to Kaltara through immigration doors in Nunukan Regency (sea) and Tarakan City in April 2024 has increased.

Especially for the Nunukan immigration gate, the number of foreign tourists was recorded at 404 visits in April 2024, an increase of 66 visits compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, in Tarakan, there were 449 foreign tourists visiting, an increase of 251 visits from the previous month.

Overall, the number of foreign tourists through the immigration doors of Nunukan and Tarakan in April 2024 reached 853 visits, an increase of 59.14 percent compared to the previous month.

Cumulatively, the number of foreign tourists visiting Kaltara through immigration doors in the 2024 period reached 3,429 visits.

However, the Head of BPS Kaltara, Mas'ud Rifai, also revealed that there are still many foreign tourists visiting Kaltara through the unregistered Border Door (PLB) at the Immigration Gate.

Therefore, BPS cooperates with the Ministry of Tourism and Telkomsel to calculate by using the Mobile Position Data (MPD) method to calculate the number of foreign tourists.

Based on the MPD, the number of foreign tourists visiting Kaltara in April 2024 reached 32,355 visits, down 1.92 percent compared to the previous month.

Cumulatively, the number of visits by MPD foreign tourists to Kaltara in the 2024 period was 121,041 visits, or a decrease of 20.05 percent compared to the same period in 2023 which was recorded at 151,398 visits.

The Kaltara government continues to strive to increase tourist visits to Kaltara. One of the efforts is to develop various leading tourist destinations.

Although the overall number of foreign tourist visits to Kaltara has decreased, the increase at the immigration gate of Nunukan and Tarakan shows that the tourism sector of Kaltara is starting to show recovery.

With various efforts made, it is hoped that the Kaltara tourism sector can return to glory and become one of the main contributors to regional income.