Karimunjawa Islands National Marine Park

Karimunjawa Archipelago – where heaven meets the earth. Central Java’s Paradise, nowadays its well known with the unspoiled and virginity islands and beauty nature. Various activities such as swimming, snorkeling, diving, fishing, sunbathing, camping, birdwatching and trecking to mangrove forest or even just sightseeing and enjoying the coral reel from the glass bottom boat, all you can have in Karimunjawa. Being a choice one of destination in Central Java.

The beauty nature, coral reefs, seaweed, seagrass, various sea creatures, mangrove forest, range mountain, and lowland tropical forests, all in an unspoiled making Karimunjawa Archipelago become National Marine Park.

The islands are administratively a sub district of Jepara Regency. Its located on 45 miles northwest of Jepara, its about 107.225 ha total area of Karimunjawa Archipelago in territory., which split up with 100.105 ha of sea area and 7.120 ha of land area. This archipelago has a tropical climate influenced by the sea breeze blowing throughout the day with an average temperature of 26 – 30 degrees, with the minimum 22 degrees and maximum 34 degrees temperature.

 
History of the name ‘Karimunjawa’
It was came from the Sunan Nyamplungan’s history. Sunan Nyamplungan is a famous folklore figure with the real name Amir Hasan. The son of the leader of Wali Songo ( disseminator of Islam Religion in Java ) with named Sunan Muria. Sunan Muria gave command to Amir Hasan to go to one of the islands which seen from the top of Muria Mountain. The islands seen blurred and they said kremun- kremun ( means blurred ).

Amir Hasan accompanied with 2 follower gone away with 2 things, 2 seeds of the kind of fruit with named ‘nyamplung’ and 1 of Mustaka. After very long journey crossing the seas they finally arrived to the island which finally named ‘Karimunjawa’ it taken from kremun – kremun saking tanah jawi or blurred islands which seen from Java.

Amir Hasan called by the people with Sunan Nyamplungan, it taken from the name of the fruits name ‘nyamplung’. Nowadays, the grave of Sunan Nyamplungan become shrine or sacred place of the Karimunjawa Citizens and tourists. And the ‘mustaka’ is allocated in the Sunan Nyamplungan’s grave complex.

Tourist Attraction
The natural scenic and relatively virgin islands, Karimunjawa offers natural attraction from marine tourism to adventure tourism. With multiethnic population makes this region was interesting to know the variety of unique cultures and traditions. Marine tours offer a variety of tours and sports activities related to the nature of Karimunjawa Archipelago. Some kinds of tours and sports activies that can be done are mentioned as follow :

Diving
The beauty of the underwater life of Karimunjawa undoubtedly, with various coral reefs and diverse fish species that live in it. Scuba diving is the way that you can enjoy the beauty of the underwater. At least there are 12 diving spot, among others are Milym Reef in Menjangan Kecil Island, Indonor Wreck in Batu Lawang, Ezdir Reef in Cemara Besar Island, and Antonys Point in Tengah Island.

Besides the beauty of Marine life you also can have the Wreck Dive. Indonor Wreck which sunk on February 7^th 1960 when sailed from Palembang to Surabaya and loaded with the coal. Indonor with the length 30 meters and 12 meters high can be found nereby Kemojan Island with 10-17 meters depth. As a history the name of Indonor is stand for “Indonesia – Norway”.

The potential underwater of Antonys Point in Tengah island is also another well worth diving as a tourist destination. With the visibility reaches 20 meters depth you can find 30 kinds of fish in it, and the most the existence of the coral reefs which is 80% in good condition makes complete.

Here are others diving location; the north and the west side of Karimunjawa island, the east side of Menjangan Besar island, around Menjangan Kecil island, south and west side of Geleang island, west of Bengkoang island, west of Parang island, east of Kembar island, around Katang island, The north and The east of Krakal Kecil island, and the west of Kumbang island.

Total Dive Site : 19 Spots
The best periode for divers : March – April
The worst periode for divers : December – January

Always update the weather on www.bmkg.go.id to have the best time to travel.

Snorkeling
Almost sea part of Karimunjawa islans are covered with coral reefs until 40 meters depth. There are 66 genres of coral reefs and a type of endangered reef called Musik reef (tubipora musica). To enjoy the coral reefs and the underwater world life you can also do snorkeling. Snorkeling (diving surface) or shallow diving (skin diving) is swimming or diving activities by applying tools such as diving masks and snorkels. Divers often wear the tool motion in the form of frog legs (fins diving) to increase the thrust of the foot.

The location of snorkeling spot you can check to the diving spot.

Paradise Island

Karimunjawa National Park, which forms a chain of 27 islands, represents numerous ecosystem types including lowland rain forest, seagrass and algae fields, coastal forests, mangrove forests, and coral reefs A characteristic plant of the Park is dewodaru ( Crystocalyx macrophyla ) which grows in lowland rain forest. The plants growing in the seagrass and algae fields may be classified into three divisions, namely Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta. The coastal and mangrove forests are characterized by ketapang ( Terminalia cattapa ), cemara laut ( Casuarina equisetifolia ), jati pasir ( Scaerota frustescens ), setigi ( Strebus asper ), waru laut ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ), and mangrove ( Rhizophora mucronata )Karimunjawa. National Park's. coral reefs are made up of fringing reefs, barrier reefs and numerous patch reefs. They have an incredible wealth of species: 51 genera with more than 90 species of coral biota and 242 species of ornamental fish. Two protected biota species, black coral ( Antiphates sp. ) and organ pipe coral ( Tubipora musica ), may be found here Other protected sea biota include the hornet helmet ( Cassis cornuta ), triton trumpet ( Charonia tritonis ), pearly-chambered nautili ( Nautilus pompillius ), green shell ( Turbo marmoratus ), and six species of clam The diversity of terrestrial animals of this Park is not as high in terms of numbers as that of the aquatic animals. However, it is still possible to see deer ( Cervus timorensis subspec ), pangolin ( Manis javanica ), 40 different bird species such as the green imperial pigeon ( Ducula aenea ), white-bellied sea eagle ( Haliaeetus leucogaster ), yellow-vented bulbul ( Pycnonotus goiavier ), red-breasted parakeet ( Psittacula alexandri ), etc,. as well as hawksbill turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata ), common green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ), and edhor snake. The white-bellied sea eagle is listed as an endangered species Around Kemujan island, the wreck of the Panamanian ship "Indono", which sank to the sea bed in 1955, is now a habitat of coral fish and is a popular site for wreck diving Only five of the 27 islands are inhabited: Karimunjawa, Kemujan, Karang, Nyamuk and Genting. Karimunjawa Island is the centre of this sub-district, which is located 83 km from Jepara (a city famous in Indonesia for its woodcarving industry ) The name "Karimunjawa " comes from the era of Sunan Muria. He was one of the outstanding religious figures who helped to disseminate Islam in Java. Story has it that when upon a time, Sunan Muria was viewing the islands of Karimunjawa from Java, but they were just a blur on the horizon - in the Javanese language, 'kremun-kremun. soko jowo'. once Sunan Muria's. son, Sunan Nyamplungan, or Amir Hasan, passed away, he left a bequest of lele fish ( Clarias meladerma ) without poisonous fins, the grave of Nyamplungan, dewodaru wood, sentigi, kalimosodo and edhor snakes, all of which are now considered sacred by the local people Declared : Minister of Forestry, SK No. 74/Kpts-II/2001,

a total area of 110,1173. hectares
Location : : Regency; of Jepara (Province of Central Java)
Temperature 23° - 32° C
Altitude 0 - 605 m asl Geographical location 110°07'. - 110°37'. E; 5°42'. - 6°00'. S

Interesting locations/attractions:Menjangan Kecil, Menjangan Besar, Tanjung Gelam, Legon Lele, Genting, Kembar, Parang, Cemara and Krakal Islands: : marine tourism (sailing, surfing, water skiing, swimming, sunbathing on white sand beaches, diving/snorkelling), camping, cultural visits, deer and bird observation Bengkoang and Kemujan Islands: camping and wreck diving Bukit Bendera, Bukit Gajah and Legon Goprak: tracking and marine tours Travel bureaus in Semarang and Jepara offer package tours lasting from between one and seven daysCultural. attractions outside the Park include the Durian and Lomban Festivals in Jepara, held in January and March each year Best time of year to visit:

April to October How to reach the Park:
Semarang-Jepara, around 15. hour by car (100 km), then Jepara (Kartini Harbour)-Karimunjawa, around 5 hours by ferry (twice a week), or Semarang (Achmad Yani Airport)-Kemujan Island by plane (once a week) Office: Jl. Menteri Supeno I Nr. 2
Semarang 50241, Central Java
Tel. : 62-24-8319709
E-mail: btnkjawa@indosatnetid

National Marine Park Karimunjawa

 National Marine Park Karimunjawa

Designated as a national marine park, Karimunjawa is a chain of 27 of many small islands. These include Karimunjawa Island, Kemujan Island, Menjangan Besar Island, and Menjangan kecil Island. Practically all of Karimunjawa Islands are sand beaches. However in some areas of the Kemojan Islands there are mangrove beaches. Visitors to the Karimun Jawa islands, located some 50 miles north of Semarang, can also enjoy sunbathing or fishing. The area is famous as a haven for anglers because of its many fish.

What is great for travellers is that most of the islands are untouched, remote and beautiful. Only four of the islands are inhabited and one island is owned privately and has been turned into a holiday retreat. On the main island, Karimun, there are some 15 homestays, each with up to 10 rooms, which are often fully booked on weekends. There are many hotels on the island, with rooms from Rp 250,000 to US$500 a night. Visitors may choose to rent a bungalow for Rp 50,000 a night, and order from the sea food menu with meals starting at Rp 15,000.

Many resorts in Karimunjawa, such as Kura-kura Resort, provide numerous diving activities. Interesting spots are Taka Panyawangan and Gosong Cemara for diving. Tourists and travellers alike can enjoy snorkeling at Cemara which show relatively little environmental damage. Diving equipment is also available for hire for those who want to experience the beauty of the deep sea, but for safety reasons they must be accompanied by an instructor. People who are not able to swim can still enjoy snorkeling in safety on one of the extensive shallow reefs there with a depth of only 1.5 meters. Tourists who do not have their own equipment can hire snorkeling gear from local residents.

To experience the Karimun islands with their white sandy beaches visitors can cruise around the islands by boat, with fares ranging from Rp 100,000 to Rp 250,000 depending on the vessel. A boat which holds up to 10 people costs Rp 100,000, and for 20 people, Rp 250,000 a day” said Jasamni, a local resident who rents out boats.

Visitors can reach Karimun Jawa by ship, departing from Kartini harbor in Jepara or Tanjung Emas in Semarang. The Muria boat goes from Jepara to Karimun Jawa every Wednesday and Saturday at 9 a.m. and returns every Monday and Thursday at 8 a.m. The journey takes six hours and costs Rp 24,000 for economy class or Rp 48,000 for business class.

The Kartini goes from Semarang to Karimun Jawa every Saturday and returns on Sundays at 4 p.m. The ride takes only three to four hours but it costs up to Rp 100,000.

Or if you are feeling adventurous and enjoy discovering, then take a hike around the islands that you visit for a pleasant surprise and excellent panoramas and especially at sunset.