Ujung Kulon National Park

Ujung Kulon National Park is located at the western-most tip of Java, Indonesia. It includes the volcanic island group of Krakatoa and other islands including Panaitan, Handeuleum and Peucang.

The park encompasses an area of 1,206 km² (443 km² marine), most of which lies on a peninsula reaching into the Indian Ocean. The explosion of nearby Krakatau in 1883 produced a tidal wave that eliminated the villages and crops of the coastal areas on the western peninsula, and covered the entire area in a layer of ash about 30 cm thick. This caused the total evacuation of the peninsula by humans, thereby allowing it to become a repository for much of Java’s flora and fauna, and most of the remaining lowland forest on the island.

It is Indonesia's first national park and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 for containing the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Java. It is also one of only two homes of the critically endangered Javan Rhinoceros. A population of fifty to sixty live in Ujung Kulon, a smaller population of possibly 10 or less, live in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. The park protects 57 rare species of plant. The 35 species of mammal include Banteng, Silvery Gibbon, Javan Lutung, Crab-eating Macaque, Leopard, Java Mouse-deer and Rusa Deer. There are also 72 species of reptiles & amphibians, and 240 species of birds.

Permits for the park are available at the town of Labuan, where there is a National Park office. There is also an office at Tamanjaya. Accommodation is available on Handeuleum and Peucang islands.