Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park
The Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, formerly Dumoga Bone, is one of the two biggest terrestrial national parks of Sulawesi encompassing 300,000 ha of rainforest from 50-2,000 m above sea level. Almost all of Sulawesi’s 75 endemic species occur in the park.
Endemic birds that are common and conspicuous in the park include: Sulawesi Serpen-eagle, Spot-tailed Goshawk, Isabelline Waterhen, Sulawesi Black Pigeon, Golden-mantled Raquet-tail, Fiery-billed Malkoha, Great-billed Kingfisher, Red-knobbed Hornbill, Ashy Woodpecker, Pied Cockoo-shrike, Sulawesi Babbler, Finch-biled and White-necked Mynas, Yellow-sided and grey-sided Flowerpeckers. Others are more locally distributed but still relatively easy to observe, like Maleo and Purple-winged Roller.
Other Wildlife
Crested Black Macaque, Wild Bear and spectral Tarsier can be found around the guest-house in Duloduo. Try the veranda of the guest house in the evening with the flights on for bats and huge beetles and butterflies,. In the forest keep an eye out for bear and Dwarf Cuscus.
Getting there
The village of Duloduo, some 2 km from the park headquarters can be reached directly by bus from the Malalayang bus station in southwest manado. If requested the bus might stop at Koasinggolan dam, just behind Duloduo, from which it is less then 1 km to the offices (cross the small dam left and continue on this road). The Manado-Dulodou trip takes about 6 to 7 hours and costs about IDR 25,000.
Another entrance of the park with a good access to the forest is Toraut. Small buses (oplets) go from Duloduo to Toraut (12 km; IDR 5,000).
Accommodation/dining
The headquarters in Dulodou include a guest-house with two rooms for two people each. Food is available on request. One night including three meals costs about IDR 90,000. Though more remote, the Toraut area offers sleeping facilities for quite large numbers.
General Information
Visitors have to register at the Dulodou or Toraut offices. A small fee has to be paid for insurances each day (about IDR 5,000).
Entering the forest is allowed only with a park guide, none of whom speak any English. The guide fee is around IDR 50,000 a day. A good birding trip from Dulodou is the track to the Matayangan village and Maleo nesting ground. This trip starts from the guest-house in Dulodou and takes about 8 hours, including transportation to Dulodoou from Matayangan village.
A nice trip in the Dumoga valley is a visit to the Maleo nesting ground of Tambun. Arrange transportation and guide the day before, leave early to the village of Imandi (“market with bats”) and go inland to Mokintop village, total costs between IDR 50,000-80,000). Another possibility is leaving the night before and staying in the small guest-house of Imandi (50 m next to the post office).
Less than two km before Mokintop is the Tambun Maleo nesting ground. Maleos are around between October and May. Be there early to see the birds. In Mokintop village Purple-winged Roller are common.
The road from Imandi to Mokinto gives good opportunities for rails, herons and raptors, while the Dumoga valley in the west, which is not part of the park, is rich in herons, rails and waders.
Rainfall is generally evenly distributed throughout the year with relative wet periods from November to January and from March to May and dry spells from June to Octaober and in February, although local patterns of rainfall show great differences.
An excellent, full-colour guidebook with some superb photographs, north Sulawesi; a Natural History Guide, by Dr Margaret Kinnaird, is available from the wallacea Development Institute.
source Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore
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