Ujung kulon National Park is one of the last remaining natural forest on Java and one of very few areas offering a profile of sea-shore to mountain top tropical vegetation. The park holds well over 700 species of plant life of which at least 57 are classified as rare in Java, and perhaps the world.

Although a great deal of Ujung Kulon's forest is as it was centuries ago, some areas have been modified by the forces of nature. Tidal waves from the Krakatau eruption have inundated the northern shores and volcanic ash deposits at time have impeded plant growth.

People have also played a role in altering some of the park's vegetation. Areas of Ujung Kulon were once cultivated by the local people - grazing grounds of the Cigenter and Cidaon were past village and paddy field site - until the 1930's the land was being burnt to increase grassland for game hunting.

LOWLAND RAIN FOREST
Amongst the most fascinating of the Park's plant life are the many species of figs. These can take the form of trees, climbers or epihytes and are the larders of the forest that provide abundant fruit for the wildlife.

The strangling fig begins from seeds deposited in cavities in the trunks or branches of large trees by birds, bats and other small animals

Ujung Kulon National Park

Introduction | The Land | Plant Life | Wild Life | Marine Life | The People | Attractions