Hunting Black Orchid at Kersik Luway

If you travel to East Kalimantan, don't forget to visit preserve Kersik Luway, Sekolaq Darat, West Kutai, East Kalimantan. The Preserve is unique because although its place is at the hill, hinterland area of East kalimantan, you will find white sand carpet as you usually see at the beach.

At the place, every visitor usually love to look for black orchid (coeloegyne pandurata). At the 45 hectare area which formerly had a wide of 5000 hectare and shrink because of fire, you will see various special plants of East Kalimantan hill.

It is actually quite a little hard to reach the growing location of Black Orchid. We should go through sandy farm and must often walk by bending our body in order to pass through the tree roots. However, those will be rewarded after we can find the flower which becomes the icon of West Kutai sub province. Although to reach the location, we do not pass big-diameter trees, the dense of the forest is quite challenging for adventurers.

After going in and out some little forests, we will come to an area which was formerly a palace of Black Orchid before fire. Black Orchid is substantively primadona flower and it can only grow at Kersik Luway. "Many thinks that Black Orchid has a black color, but the truth is the flower has greenish-white color. The black color is just on its pistil," said Toni Imang, The Bureu Chief of Social Department, West Kutai.


The easiest way to go to the Preserve Kersik Luway is by air. You can reach it from Balikpapan or Samarinda, using pioneer flight. After you arrive at Melalan Airport, West Kutai, you can use rental car or motorcycle transport called ojek to go to Kersik Luway. Don't imagine the rent fare is as cheap as at Java. However, although you pay expensive for the local transport, your satisfaction after visiting Kersik Luway can cure it and it become one of your great experience in your life.

The images are taken from:
anakbalikpapan.blog.com
bengkulutengah.blogspot.com