Alas Purwo

Alas Purwo National Park was established in 1992 on the Blambangan peninsula, at the south-eastern tip of Java, in the regency of Banyuwangi, facing the strait that separates the island from Bali. It covers 434.2 km² and includes Cape Bantenan, the southernmost point of Java, and Cape Slaka, the easternmost.

Its name means "first forest" or "ancient forest" in Javanese, and comes from a legend according to which the land emerged from the ocean precisely here. That mythical charge is still alive: the surrounding population maintains a strong Blambangan identity and believes the park was the last refuge of the people of Majapahit fleeing the advance of the kingdom of Mataram. Inside it there are temples and meditation places still in use.

The territory combines mangroves, savannah, lowland monsoon forest and coral-fringed beaches, with Mount Linggamanis, at 322 metres, as its principal high point. Its emblematic animal is the wild banteng, the wild cattle of Java, which grazes on the Sadengan grasslands, and four species of marine turtle nest on the southern and eastern shores: olive ridley, leatherback, hawksbill and green. On the edge of the park, Plengkung beach, in Grajagan Bay, is known to surfers worldwide as G-Land and has one of the most famous left-hand waves on the planet. Since March 2016 the park has formed part of the Blambangan Biosphere Reserve.