Highest Peak on Bangka Island (Gunung Maras National Park)

 

Gunung Maras National Park

Don't underestimate any mountain. That's the right word to describe the mountain I visited on Bangka Island, namely Mount Maras. Mount Maras is a mountain located on Bangka Island, precisely in Rambang Village, Riau Silip District, Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province. Mount Maras is the only mountain on Bangka Island. This mountain, which is a National Park, is located in 2 (two) regencies, namely Bangka Regency (main) and West Bangka Regency. However, the more dominant one is in Bangka Regency. Administratively, this area covers the Riau Silip District, Bangka Regency and Kelapa District, West Bangka Regency. The villages that cover the Mount Maras forest area are Mapur Village, Riau Silip Village, Kayu Arang Village, Berbura Village (within the area) and Tuik Village (West Bangka). The distance between Mount Maras and Sungailiat City is around 70 km, while from Belinyu City it is around 33 km. Gunung Maras National Park was designated a National Park based on Decree 576/Menlhk/Setjen/PLA.2/7/2016 dated 27 July 2016. This National Park can be said to be new compared to other National Parks in Indonesia. This area, which covers an area of ​​around 16,806.91 Ha, has quite varied ecosystem typologies.

    Gunung Maras National Park Zoning Map

  

Mount Maras Climbing Gate

One of the attractions in this National Park is climbing the mountain which is the highest peak on Bangka Island. This climb was carried out on December 31 2020 with three friends from the nature organization on my campus, namely Umar, Raihan and Mustofa. The start of the climb starts from Basecamp which is located in Berbura Village, Riau Silip District, Bangka Regency. During the journey to Post 1 the weather was very hot. Understandably, the climb starts at an altitude of 50 meters above sea level (masl) which definitely makes you sweat because the hot sun penetrates your skin even though the road you take is only flat. In less than 30 minutes of walking we arrived at Post 1, not far from where there was a waterfall flowing through the river.

          
           The waterfall at Post 1 of the Mount Maras climbing route flows through the river

               
              One of the posts on the Mount Maras climbing route

The journey continues to post 2 then to post 3 for approximately 30 minutes. The hiking trail has started to be covered with trees which occasionally block out the sun. The uphill trek was quite tiring so we stopped several times to drink water. The unexpected cloudy weather made us worried that it would rain when we almost arrived at post 4. Sure enough, after we took a short break at post 4, the rain fell slowly with a roar so we hurried to continue our journey quickly. The rain got heavier when we arrived at post 5. We were forced to keep going because we deliberately didn't bring rain coats, we didn't think it would rain beforehand. A few minutes walking, we were shocked by a lightning strike right in front of us. Suddenly, we fell silent and decided to stop walking even though the rain soaked our bodies and clothes. After 30 minutes of silence waiting for good weather, we decided to continue climbing to the peak feeling tense. Time passed, we passed ridges and valleys, finally we arrived at the peak of Mount Maras.

Kantung semar that can be found on hiking trails

Top of Mount Maras (669 masl)

The view before our eyes that amazed us seemed to eliminate any worries about safety during the climb. At an altitude of 669 meters above sea level (masl) the beauty of the tropical rainforest of Bangka Island spreads wide below. Climbing this mountain taught me how small we are in front of the universe. Playing in the wild is the same, both have risks whether the terrain is difficult or easy. By respecting our playground; in the wild, we get wisdom and meaning that can be taken from every journey that gratitude is a way to live life and survive.

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