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The Berbak National Park comprises an area of 190.000 ha. of peat (110,000 ha) and freshwater swamp (60,000 ha). A smaller part consists of mangrove forest. The park is situated on the east coast of Sumatra in the province Jambi.
Nine months of the year large areas of the park are flooded. Therefor, the best time to visit the park is during the dry season from June till October. Berbak is very hot and humid.
The park's inaccessibility makes it one of the best refugees for several endangered animals. Berbak might be considered as one of the best Tiger and Tapir reserves in Indonesia. Moreover, it's avifauna is very rich.
The park is inhabited by the a group of approximately 150 original inhabitants of the east Sumatra swamps: the nomadic Kubu tribe.
Access
Boats leave Jambi for Nipah Panjang and from Nipah Panjang to Desa Air Hatam Laut (expensive!), the entrance of the park. Desa Air Hitam Laut can be reached in approximately five hours, although travel time may double during the wet season.A PHPA permit is obligatory and available from the PHPA office in Jambi. The park is also accessible by the river Sungai Batang Hari.
Accomodation
Simple accomodation in Nipah Panjang. Several possibilities in Jambi.
Flora
Nypa fruticans, Pandanus tectorius, Mammea spp.
Fauna
Berbak is most famous for it's variety of birds: 250 species belonging to 49 families. A sail along the rivers in the park is the easiest way to watch the birds. Apart from birds you find several other animals but in lower numbers than in the lowland forests.
Mammals
Sumatran Tiger, Malayan Tapir, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Malayan Sunbear, Clouded Leopard, Leopard Cat, Siamang, Agile Gibbon, Common Otter (Lutra lutra), Hairy-nosed Otter (Lutra sumatranus), Yellow-throated Marten (Martes flavigula), Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), Banded Palm Civet (Hemigalus derbyanus), Long-tailed Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Pangolin, Greater Slow Loris, Banded Leaf Monkey, Banded Linsang (Prionodon linsang), Large Flying Fox, Cream-colored or Common Giant Squirrel (Ratufa affinis), Silvered Leaf Monkey, Bottle-nose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).
Reptiles
False Ghavial, Estuarine Crocodile, River Terrapin, Bornean Terrapin, Black Marsh Turtle, Reticulated Python, Rough-necked Monitor (Varanus rudicollis), Water Monitor.
Birds
White-winged Wood-Duck, Chinese Egret (Egretta eulophotes), Lesser Adjutant, Milky Stork, Storm's Stork, Asian Dowitcher, Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer), Wrinkled Hornbill, Wallace's Hawk-eagle, Helmeted Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Shikra (Accipiter badius), Chinese Goshawk, Crested Goshawk, Besra (Accipiter virgatus), Asian Pied Hornbill, Black Hornbill, Jerdon's Baza (Aviceda jerdoni), Black Baza (Aviceda leuphotes), Barred Eagle-owl (Bubo sumatranus), Rhinoceros Hornbill, Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo), Black-winged Kite, Spotted Kestrel (Falco moluccensis), White-bellied Sea-eagle, Brahminy Kite, Grey-headed Fish-eagle, Black Eagle, Buffy Fish-owl, Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot, Black-thighed Falconet, Brown Boobook, Collared Scopsowl, Reddish Scopsowl (Otus rufescens), Osprey, Oriental Honey-buzzard, Red-breasted Parakeet, Long-tailed Parakeet, Blue-rumped Parrot (Psittinus cyanurus), Crested Serpent-eagle, Blyth's Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus alboniger), Changeable Hawk-eagle, Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Silvery Pigeon (Columba argentina), Oriental Hobby, Argus Pheasant.
Fishes
Arowana, Finless Porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides).
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