Rammang-Rammang Karst Area
Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park is a national park in South Sulawesi in Indonesia containing the Rammang-Rammang karst area, the second largest karst area known in the world. The uniquensess of Karst Maros Pangkep region can’t be found in other karst areas in Indonesia.
A boat ride to reach the Rammang-Rammang village. It is a good walking trails, the village has views of the karst stones surrounding it, enjoy the wide panorama; walking, rice fields, local farmer houses, beautiful scenery.
The park is in Maros Regency, 50 kilometers to the north of Makassar (one hour drive) or just 20 kilometers from Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport (30 minutes drive). Most of the Karst formations are tall and steep at almost a 90 degree angle line along both sides of the road from Maros city to Bantimurung continuing on up to the Pangkajene Islands Regency.
The Rammang-Rammang karst area is 43,750 hectares and has 286 caves which includes 16 pre-historic caves in Maros Regency and 17 pre-historic caves in Pangkep, Bone Regency. There is waterfall with 2 caves at the national park; the one on the left side is known as the dream cave (one-kilometer long) and the one on the right is known as the stone cave. Riding on the water on blown up inner tubes is a popular activity for children at the site.
Located in the transition area of Asia and Australia zone, the national park has many unique animals collection, such as Sulawesi moor macaque (Macaca maura), the red-knobbed hornbill (Aceros cassidix, Penelopides exarhatus), cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis), Sulawesi palm civet (Macrogalidia musschenbroekii), bat, and pot-bellied boar (Sus scrofa vittatus).
There are many butterflies around the waterfall such as Troides helena Linne, ‘Troides hypolitus’ Cramer, Troides haliphron Boisduval, Papilio peranthus adamantius and Cethosia myrana. The British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace referred to the site as a butterfly kingdom. During his exploration in 1857, Wallace found 256 butterfly species from Bantimurung area.
