Pulau Seribu, Indonesia Tourism

May 27, 2011 |

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Hatena Bookmark - Pulau Seribu, Indonesia Tourism

Pulau Seribu or Thousand Island . The chain of 140 island , mostly pristine, scattered across the Java Sea to the north of Jakarta offers a serene getaway from the bustling city life. White sandy beaches fringed with coconut palms line the coast and the surrounding waters is a paradise for snorkeling and scuba diving. The island can be reached from Tanjung Priok or Pasar Ikan (Sunda Kelapa) by ferry or by chartered boat. Bungalows, restaurants, diving and sailing facilities are available.

hawksbill turtles, Thousand island

In 1972 Ali Sadikin, then governor of Jakarta, declared Onrust Island a protected historical site. In 2002 the administration made Onrust and its three neighbors – Cipir, Kelor and Bidadari – an archaeological park to protect the artifacts and ruins on the islands that date back to the time of the Dutch East India Company.

beach, Thousand island

The Onrust Archaeology Park consists of four islands that are relatively close to Jakarta, within at most two kilometers from each other and that form a rough square. In 1800 HMS Sybille, HMS Daedalus, HMS Centurion and HMS Braave entered the area, which they referred to as Batavia Roads, and captured five Dutch armed vessels in all and destroyed 22 other vessels.

Paradiso Islands / Onrust Archaeology Park

Pulau Onrust: The Dutch called this island Eijland Onrust (Dutch for “Unrest”). Onrust is also known as Pulau Kapal (Ship Island) or Pulau Damar Besar. Onrust was the site of a major shipyard and five-sided fort that had belonged to the by then defunct Dutch East India Company. The Dutch had to rebuild the naval base on Onrust several times due to British attacks, such as the one in 1800. The last restoration was in 1840. In 1883 the explosion of krakatoa sent a huge tidal wave that destroyed the last Dutch naval base on the island. During the 19th Century Onrust held a sanitorium for people suffering from tuberculosis and a quarantine station for pilgrims returning from the Hajj to Mecca.The quarantine barracks took up some two-thirds of the island and could hold 3,500 pilgrims. Over the years erosion reduced Onrust from its original 12 hectares to 7.5 hectares (2002). The administration then built concrete retaining walls around the island but these are now in a dilapidated state.

Pulau Kahyangan (Heaven Island): The Dutch originally named this Kuyper Eiland or Cuyper Eijland.(The British called it Kuyper Island, Kuyper’s Island or Cooper’s Island). Under the Dutch there was a shipyard here too. Under the Indonesians it came to be called Palau Cipir. In the early 20th Century a narrow, floating bridge linked Cipir and Onrust islands. At the time, it too functioned as a quarantine station.

Pulau Bidadari (Heavenly Nymphs / Angels’ Island). The Dutch named the island Purmerent eiland after the town ofPurmerend in Holland. In 1850 the Dutch built a Martello tower (Menara Martello) here as part of a set of fortifications that protected the approaches to Batavia. The tower was operational until 1878, when it became a storage site. It too was badly damaged by the Krakatoa explosion and was abandoned in 1908. All that remains now is the base up to a meter or two above ground. Bidadari was also known as Pulau Sakit (Sick Island) as it housed a leper colony during the 17th century. More recently, the island came to be called “Angel Island”, to honor the leprosarium that had been there. Bidadari is now a resort island with some tourist facilities.

Pulau Kelor. The Dutch first referred to this island as Engelse (English) Onrust and started to use it as a cemetery. It then became Kerkhof eiland (Cemetery island) and eventually Kelor. There is a large circular brick building here that some call a Martello tower. It is not; photos suggest that its walls are too thin and the windows in them are too many and too large.