| Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park | |
|---|---|
| Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung | |
 Rammang-rammang karst in Bantimurung-Bulusaraung NP | |
  Bantimurung-Bulusaraung NP Location in Sulawesi | |
| Location | South Sulawesi,Indonesia |
| Nearest city | Makassar |
| Coordinates | 4°54′S119°45′E / 4.900°S 119.750°E /-4.900; 119.750 |
| Area | 437 square kilometres (43,700 ha) |
| Established | 2004 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Forestry |
| Website | www |
Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park (Indonesian:Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung) is anational park inSouth Sulawesi inIndonesia.[1] The park contains theRammang-Rammangkarst area, the second largestkarst area known in the world after the one in South-Eastern China.[2][better source needed]
The park is inMaros Regency, 50 kilometers to the north ofMakassar (one hour drive) or just 20 kilometers fromSultan Hasanuddin International Airport (30 minutes drive).[3] Most of the Karst formations are tall and steep at almost a 90-degree angle line along both sides of the road fromMaros city to Bantimurung continuing up to thePangkajene and Islands Regency (Indonesian:Pangkajene dan Kepulauan, commonly abbreviated as Pangkep).
The karst area is 43,750 hectares and has 286caves which include 16 pre-historic caves in Maros and 17 pre-historic caves in Pangkep.[4] There is a waterfall with 2 caves at the national park; the one on the left side is known as thedream cave (one-kilometer long) and the one on the right is known as thestone cave. Riding on the water on blown up inner tubes is a popular activity for children at the site.
The first main exploration of the Bantimurung area was carried out byAlfred Wallace in July–October 1857. Later he published the results of his explorations inThe Malay Archipelago which encouraged numerous researchers to visit Maros. Then, in 1970–1980, there were five chosen conservation areas in Maros-Pangkep Karst, consisting of two nature parks (Bantimurung and Gua Pattunuang) and three wildlife sanctuaries (Bantimurung, Karaenta, and Bulusaurung). In 1993, The XIInternational Union of Speleology Congress recommended Maros-Pangkep Karst as a world heritage site. Five years after that, the Environmental Seminar ofHasanuddin University (PSL-UNHAS) also recommended protection of Maros-Pangkep Karst.[5]
Furthermore, in May 2001,International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asia Regional Office andUNESCO World Heritage Center held the Asia-Pacific Forum on Karst Ecosystems and World Heritage inSarawak, Malaysia which convinced the Indonesian government to conserve Maros-Pangkep Karst. Finally in 2004, the Ministry of Forestry declared the allocation of 43,750 hectares of Bantimurung-Bulusaurung land for wildlife conservatory, nature park, conservation forest, limited production forest, production forest, as the Bantimurung – Bulusaraung National Park.
In January 2026, anATR 42 operated byIndonesia Air Transport carrying 10 peoplecrashed into MountBulusaraung, located inside the park. At least one body was discovered at the site.[6]
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). Recently, in March 2008, staffs of Bantimurung – Bulusaraung National Park had documented the existence ofTarsius fuscus and they also found its nest inside the area.[5][7] Amongcrustacean biodiversity in the karst area, there is one unique species called "spider crab" (Cancrocaeca xenomorpha) which is only found in Maros Karst cave.[8][9]
Besidesinsectarium, butterfly breeding centers, managed by both the reserve administrator and residents serve complete themetamorphosis process of the butterflies. There are many butterflies around the waterfall such asTroides helena Linne,Troides hypolitus Cramer,Troides haliphron Boisduval,Papilio peranthus adamantius andCethosia myrana. The British naturalistAlfred Russel Wallace referred to the site as a butterfly kingdom.[10] During his exploration in 1857, Wallace found 256 butterfly species from Bantimurung area, different from previous report of Mattimu in 1977 who found 103 butterfly species inside the national park with some endemic species arePapilio blumei,Papilio polytes,Papilio sataspes, andGraphium androcles.
Since the 1970s the Bantimurung area has been known as a commercial source of butterflies. Collections of butterflies are supplied both to local Indonesian markets as well as international markets assouvenirs in the form of individual specimens, butterfly frames,key chains, and other accessories. In 2010 about 600,000 tourists (mainly domestic visitors) visited the site. Over use and over exploitation of the local resource is now seen as a problem. In response, the management of the national park has moved to change the purpose of the butterfly conservatory from extraction and exploitation into preservation of thenatural ecosystem as atourist attraction.[11] However, local informal trade in butterflies still occurs. Sellers still catch butterflies in the park and sell them to local dealers rather than producing them frombreeding orfarming production.[12] As an attempt to help preserve the butterflies, a wide variety were listed as a priority in theinsect group[5] of the official Indonesian Government's National Species Conservation Strategic Directions 2008–2018.
