Taman Safari Bogor
Jakarta : After spending the night at Indonesia and Asia Pacific’s no 1 luxury golf resort in the valley of Bogor volcano in West Java we moved on to Taman Safari I. It is also called Taman Safari Bogor, and is located in district Cisarua, West Java. It is 80 km from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. There are three such safaris in Indonesia. This being the first and biggest of the nation.
It covers a lush green undulating forest area of 170 hectares and is home to more than 3,000 animals, including Malayan sun bears, giraffes, orangutans, hippos, zebras, Sumatran elephants, rhinos, ostrich, barking deer, spotted dear, nilgai, lions, tigers, Bengal as well as white tigers, etc. Lush green tropical forest, hilly terrain, river flowing through the park and small waterfalls make the visit memorable.
After a mandatory Covid check and purchasing tickets at the entry gate — Rs 1250 per head for locals, Rs 2000 for foreigners (value in Indian currency) — we were let into the park in our vehicles and we drove around in a single file with open air enclosures on both sides of the road. There are battery operated vehicles of the park for those who arrive in public transport or private buses.
Well guarded, well fed healthy animals, all of them almost at a touching distance. People can feed fresh carrots and bananas to herbivores animals by chucking them into the enclosures. Entire approach road to the safari park is lined with shops selling carrots and bananas.
No body alights from their cars to get closer to the animals. People are advised to keep car windows closed while passing through lion and tiger enclosures. And everyone adheres to the rule. No exceptions.
The safari park has been developed on the theme of ruins of ancient monuments, completely taken over by the animal kingdom. For a change, we were visiting their lush green planet in tightly sealed cages moving on four wheels.
Wonder of wonders there was no littering in the park. No blowing of horns while cars were moving at a snail’s pace or stopping at every enclosure to keenly observe animals in the privacy of their homes. No one got out of the cars to get closer to the animals or click selfies. While passing through the lions and tigers open enclosures there was not a single car with a rolled down window.
In Java during traffic jams there is always a distance of 6 to 9 feet between two vehicles. While returning we covered the 80 km distance in about six hours. According to locals it would have gotten worse late in the evening.
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