Lake Sentarum National Park is a park protecting one of the world's most biodiverse lake systems that situated deep in the
Heart of Borneo,
Kapuas Hulu, in
West Kalimantan. It lies in the upstream of
Kapuas River tectonic basin about 700 kilometres from the delta, and covers an area of 132,000 hectares. The basin is a vast floodplain, consisting of 20 unique seasonal lakes, peat swamp forest and freshwater swamp forest. Surrounded by hills and highland, Lake Sentarum forms an important water catchment area, at the same time regulates the water flow through the Kapuas watershed into the South China Sea.
Lake Sentarum National Park is a complex of lakes, with more than 20 unique seasonal lakes act as a reservoir that is not quite like the typical lakes you might encounter. Sentarum's water discharge is very season-dependent, in the rainy season the depth of the lake may reach 8-14 metres, flooding the surrounding areas and forests can reach up to 80,000 hectares. During the dry season, when the level of the Kapuas river gradually drops, water from Lake Sentarum flows into Kapuas to restore the water deficit and expose the dry bottom of the Sentarum basin. Eventually when the dry season reaches its climax, it can split the massive lake into hundreds of fish ponds and little rivers. The drainage system from flooded forest and freshwater lake makes Lake Sentarum quite distinct from the other lakes. The water was colored dark-reddish because containing tannins derived from peat in the surrounding forest.
Lake Sentarum National Park has been designated as a Nature Reserve area with a wide variety of wildlife and has been declared an International Wetland Site under the Ramsar Convention in 1992. It also became the best place to observe activities of the true inhabitants of Borneo Jungle. There are about 240-266 fish species have been indentified, including the Asian Arowana (Scleropaged legendrei) and Clown Loach Botia or Tiger Botia (Chromobotia macracanthus). The lake supports a large traditional fishing industy, and this diverrsity is remarkable when compared to Europe's freshwater fish. There are several types of species that are owned by the Lake Sentarum only in the sense not found elsewhere in the world. Lake Sentarum harbors are also one of the world's most diverse fish fauna of any floodplain lake system.
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| Arwana fish |
The local people around the lake is Dayak tribes and they still live in a very traditional way. You can find their traditional house (longhouses "betang") vary in size according to the number of people occupying them. Their main professions are farmers and fisherman, many residents surrounding Lake Sentarum National Park still practice traditional crafts such as ikat textile weaving and tattoos (to crave). Traveling to Lake Sentarum National Park would give you an unforgettable memories and chances to connect with the people, the stories, even explore the region together.
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| Dayak People |
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| Handicraft |
To get to Lake Sentarum National Park, go to the capital of
West Kalimantan,
Pontianak. From Pontianak, you can rent the cars to Lake Sentarum National Park (
Pontianak-Sintang-Semitau route). If you want to have more fun, take the river course from Sintang to Semitau by taking a Bandung boat ride. The only available transportation to get to the the lake from Semitau is by boat. For a shorter trip, take a flight from Pontianak to the nearest town to Lake Sentarum, which is Putussibau. From Putussibau, take the Bandung boat to go to Lake Sentarum.
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