Alas Purwo National Park has 434.2 sq km and occupies the whole of the remote Blambangan Peninsula on the southeastern tip of Java. Facilities are limited and its not easy to reach, but Alas Purwo has fine beaches, good opportunities for wildlife spotting, and savannah, mangrove and lowland monsoon forest. Apart from day-trippers and local beach parties on weekends, the park get few visitors. Alas Purwo means First Forest in Javanese - according to legend this is where the earth first emerged from ocean. Its important Hindu spiritual centre and Pura Giri Selokah, a temple in the park, attracts many pilgrims, especially during Pagerwesi the Hindu new year. More recently the huge breaks - which stretch for 2 km - at Plengkung, on the isolated southeastern tip of peninsula. have made it famous among surfers who have dubbed it G-land (for Grajagan, another name of the area)
Orientation and Information
Surfer comes by charter boat from Grajagan at the western end of the bay, but the usual park entry is by road via the village, Pasar Anyar, which has a large national park office and interpretive centre. Call in here to check on accommodation, alternatively check with the head office in Banyuwangi. The actual gateway to the park at Rowobendo, 10km south along bad road, where you need to pay your admission fee. From Rowobendo the road runs past the temple before hitting the beach at Trianggulasi 2 km away. Here has hut accommodation but nothing else.
