Pari Island; A hidden gem of the Kepulauan Seribu

When we talk about the Kepulauan Seribu, of course our thoughts goes on the well-known islands in the Kepulauan Seribu group such as Tidung Island, Bidadari Island, and Pramuka Island. But, did you know that there are several islands in the Kepulauan Seribu that have natural beauty that is no less interesting than the famous islands around it? One of the islands that has begun to be looked at in recent years is Pari Island

Pari Island is located 16 kilometers from mainland Jakarta, and can be accessed by boat from Muara Angke Harbor, Kaliadem Harbor or Ancol Marina Harbor. The ticket price from Muara Angke is Rp. 75,000, while from Ancol Harbor by fast boat it is around Rp. 250,000. The journey from Muara Angke Harbor by boat takes about 1 – 1.5 hours of travel, which departs only in the morning at 08.00, and returns to Muara Angke Harbor back from Pari Island at the same hour. Meanwhile, if you use a fast boat from Ancol Harbor, it only takes about 40 minutes. Administratively, Pari Island is located in Pulau Pari Village, Kepulauan Seribu District, DKI Jakarta Province (Marfai, 2018). The area of ​​Pari Island is about 56.7 hectares which extends from northeast to southwest. According to interviews with local in June 2022, the population of Pulau Pari is around 2000 people from 400 families spread over 4 RT

Figure 1. Satellite Imagery of Pari Island

The natural beauty of Pari Island is no longer in doubt. Tourist objects on Pari Island are mostly beaches. There are several objects that can be a destination when visiting Pari Island, including Pasir Perawan Beach, Kresek Beach, Bintang Beach, Bukit Matahari, and Mangrove Park. There are also several unnamed beaches that are no less beautiful and have white sand in several locations on this island. The main tourist attraction of Pari Island is the Pasir Perawan Beach which is located north of Pari Island. The beach that have a coastline of about 500 meters, presents beautiful views and interesting attractions. There are attraction such as canoes or small boats that can be used to explore the mangrove park. For culinary, there is no need to worry because there are many restaurants and small food vendor selling here. There are about 8 food stalls that provide food, generally seafood with starting prices from Rp. 20,000. Another interesting thing that is found at Pasir Perawan Beach is that there is a camping area on the east side of the beach and the area is quite large. Tourists can rent camps on site or bring their own. There are several tourist facilities that add to the beauty of the beach, such as gazebos along the coast, swings scattered at several points, photo spots such as name signs and monuments either on the beach or in the sea, as well as the distribution of mangroves in several beach locations. The uniqueness of this beach is also the number of trees that grow around the beach so that the impression of the beach is shady

Figure 2. Pasir Perawan Beach

Figure 3. Camping Area

Other than Pasir Perawan Beach, there is a Kresek beach which is located close to the pier which has a white sand beach. Mangrove exploration can also be done by visiting several mangrove locations scattered on Pari Island. Another must-visit beach is the beach at the eastern end of Pari Island which has yet to be named. This cape-shaped beach is still quiet and rarely visited because of its remote location and you have to pass through farms and shrubs first to reach it. When you get here, you will be treated to a stretch of clean white sand, waves that are not too big, and seagrass beds that stretch along the beach. This location is a good location to relax, because from the author's experience several times to this location, this beach is almost always quiet which may be due to the difficulty of access to this location.

Figure 4. East-side beach

For tourists who want to do more challenging recreation, they can visit the Pari Island pier in the morning or evening to try the sensation of riding a banana boat or flying fox at a cost that is not too expensive, ranging from Rp. 30,000 to Rp. 50,000 per person. Snorkeling and diving tours are also available on Pari Island, where there are several snorkeling and diving spots which are also the location of the drop from the Pari Island pier. The coral cover on Pari Island ranges from 32-55% which means that the condition of the coral reefs is in moderate to good condition (Adi et al., 2013). The condition of the coral reefs supports snorkeling and diving recreation on Pari Island.

Figure 5. Snorkeling activity

A tourist place will not be able to run properly without the existence of tourist facilities in the form of hotels or inns. Especially for Pari Island itself, the inns here are usually rented out houses from locals, or locals themselves who make special houses to become an inn. There is no hotel-level lodging on this island. The price of lodging on Pari Island ranges from Rp. 200,000 to the price of Rp. 500,000 depending on the facilities and the holiday season. During holidays, tourists can reach thousands every week, so it can be difficult to find lodging and will increase the price of the inn itself. The majority of transportation available on Pari Island is bicycles which are available in large quantities at several rentals. Motorcycles are rarely rented here, only a few inns provide motorbikes for rent to their guests.

Behind the beauty of Pari Island, there is a problem that exists in the community itself, namely the prolonged conflict over land disputes with the Company, which claims that it owns most of the land on Pari Island. According to residents, the problem between the company and the residents of Pari Island has been going on since 1993, where there were claims each other of land ownership, the problem has not yet been resolved.

Figure 6. Mural by locals

The problems that occur in Pari Island make Pari Island difficult to develop in the tourism sector. This happens because of the residents' indecision to develop Pari Island tourism, while the land ownership rights are not yet resolved. This makes the dreams of Pari Island residents to develop several locations on this island into prime tourist locations fades away. Until this article was written, there has been no light on this issue, and Pari Island residents are still fighting for their rights in court. Hopefully the conflict on Pari Island will soon find a way out, so that Pari Island can become one of favourite tourist attraction in Indonesia

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adi, A.B., Mustafa, A., & Ketjulan, R (2013). Kajian Potensi Kawasan dan Kesesuaian Ekosistem Terumbu Karang di Pulau Lara untuk Pengembangan Ekowisata Bahari. Jurnal Mina Laut Indonesia, 1, 49-60.

Aris Marfai dkk, 2018. Kajian Daya Dukung dan Ekosistem Pulau Kecil: Studi Kasus Pulau Pari. Gadjah Mada University Press; Yogyakarta