Residents Still Considered Sacred, Blue Lake In Jayawijaya Papua Is Not Allowed To Become A Tourist Attraction

Blue lake in Jayawijaya. ANTARA/HO-Personal documentation

JAYAWIJAYA - Blue Lake in Jayawijaya Regency, Papua Province is not allowed to become a tourist attraction because it is a sacred area for the local community.

Head of the Jayawijaya Culture and Tourism Office, Engelbert Sorabut, said that if the Blue Lake in the Maima District was made a tourist attraction, it would certainly have an impact on increasing the economy for local residents.

"Those who should not visit include Telaga Biru. It is a good tourist attraction, but it is still a religious area, a sacred place," he said in Wamena, Antara, Sunday, June 26.

The government has communicated with the ulayat rights owners there, but the community has not allowed it for the public interest. "So in these areas there are only certain clan or family beliefs and we other people don't know that," he said.

The Jayawijaya government, according to him, has recorded a number of sacred places besides Telaga Biru, but not all of them are allowed to be opened to the general public as in Wesaput.

In the Wesaput area, Jayapura archaeologists have visited and conducted research and made a book which, according to him, is very useful for learning for new generations.

"But some areas have started to have awareness for them to become public consumption, can be visited by domestic and foreign tourists. One of them is in Wesaput next door," he said.