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Friday, April 10, 2009

Bengkulu

Bengkulu is the smallest and lowest populated province of Sumatra. Bengkulu province is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It occupies of 19,831 sq. km area and has about one million populations, comprising mostly Rejang, Malay, Bugis and Chinese ethnic ancestry people. Bukit Barisan mountain range constitutes its northeastern border, beyond which laid of South Sumatra province and Jambi province. The province protected by a stretch of mountains, which soon flow into the mighty Bukit Barisan. Tigers and elephants wander through the remains of the original rainforest, where exotic rafflesia's and orchids grow.
The British founded Bengkulu in 1685. It is a university town and administrative centre. It is the last territory in Indonesia to be held by the British. Fort Marlborough, constructed in 1762, is a castle with gatehouse that contains old gravestones with English inscription. Sir Stamford Raffles, who later found Singapore, was lieutenant - government of Bengkulu from 1818 to 1823.
Thomas Stamford Raffles was an important figure in Bengkulu history, which in 1817 was appointed as a Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen, the only territory in the area, which the Dutch had never managed to bring under their control. Raffles was an extraordinary and energetic man of wide-ranging interests. In the year of his arrival, he and a botanist named Joseph Arnold discovered the world's largest flower, at Manna River near Lubuktapi, in South Bengkulu. The flower is now known as Rafflesia Arnoldi and is the official symbol of Bengkulu province.
Tabah Penanjung, an hour drive into the hills above Bengkulu is a nature reserve where rafflesias are often found. Mt Bukit Kaba, near the hill town of Curup can be climbed in a day from Bengkulu.
Bukit Daun
This is a protected recreation forest located between Bengkulu and Curup, about 45 km from Bengkulu. It is inhabited by a great variety of animal species. Located in a sparsely populated region of Sumatra, Bukit Daun forms a twin volcano with Gedang volcano, which is truncated by a 3-km-wide probable caldera. The 600-m-wide summit crater of Bukit Daun contains a crater lake; a smaller crater lake is found at Tologo Kecil on the SSW flank. No historical eruptions are known from Bukit Daun, although active fumaroles occur in the SSW flank crater.
Rafflesia Arnoldi
The world's largest flower is found in many areas in Bengkulu forests, on the slopes of Bukit Barisan Mountains. The flower has a diameter of about one meter in full bloom. It has no visible root or stem, and no leaves. The weigth up to 7 kg, it takes the buds up to 8 months to mature. The flower stays in bloom from 1-15 days and can be seen during the months of September-December. Rafflesia Arnoldi is a big Flower in the worlds, if one visit Rejang Lebong, the Flower was stand at the City Center of CURUP as a monument, that is why, the people call Bengkulu is A LAND OF RAFFLESIA, or in Indonesian means BUMI RAFFLESIA, because in a certain seasons, if we are lucky, we can see a beautiful flower of Rafflesia, in the forest, which appear in periodic of 5 years or more.
Bukit Kaba CraterKaba Volcano is located at Rejanglebong Regency, Bengkulu, Sumatra Island. There are 8 craters show historical explosive activity. The summit area of Kaba volcano contains three high peaks - Bukit Kaba, Bukit Itam (1893 m) and Bukit Malintang (1713 m) with three craters among them called Kaba west-old crater, Kaba middle-new crater and kaba vogel sang crater, one of them is still active. Vapors incessantly escape from 12 fissures in the earth and hot water springs are found in the vicinity. For those who like mountain climbing, this crater complex is in the sulfurous mountains.
Tabot Ceremony
One of the special events in this province is the Tabot Festival. Tabot ceremony is an interesting festival ceremony, which recalls the death of Hasan and Husen, the grandchildren of the Prophet Mohammed, who were killed in a fight to defend Islam. The Tabot feast is held annually, in the Islamic month of Muharram. It is known as the festival of fifty colorful towers (tabots), which are made of bamboo and decorated with colored paper. This tabot ceremony is commemurated by Bengkulu people who are descents from India benggala, performed every yera from 1 till 10 Muharram 61 Hijriah in Bengkulu City. The ceremony is held between 09.00 pm to 01.00 am
Tikus Island Sea Garden
Tikus Island is a group of small islands is excellent for fishing, snorkeling and diving with easy access. Mountain air makes this a pleasant stop for a couple of days. There is popular hot springs near Curup at Suban. Tikus is the name of a cluster if islets surrounded by coral reefs that teem with various forms of marine life, soft and hard corals, and fish of all colors and sizes. The islets can be seen from Bengkulu town. (Courtesy By Indonesia-Tourism)

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