Wildlife Watching Tour to Tambrauw Mountains

Tropical rainforest that covers Tambrauw regency is the natural habitat of various species of plants, and animals. There are birds, reptiles, mammals and insects which visitors can see when they explore the mountains, flat-lands and coastal areas of Tambrauw.

Green Soa-soa

A deer in the forest of Tambrauw Mountains

Foreign tourists from France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, Poland, New Zealand, Spain, Luxembourg, as well as other countries have visited Tambrauw since a few years ago. They went there to enjoy hiking, camping, riverwalk tour, snorkeling and wildlife watching.

Bird and Wildlife Watching

Rainforest hiking and birding are very popular activities among tourists. There are a lot of birds which visitors could watch. Some of them include: 

Blue-black Kingfisher (Todiramphus nigrocynus)
in Tambrauw regency

Lesser Birds of Paradise

King Bird of Paradise

Magnificent Riflebird

Glossy Manucode

Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise

Magnificent Bird of Paradise

Palm Cockatoo

Eclectus Parrot

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Red-cheeked Parrot

Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot

Large Fig Parrot

Black Lory

Moluccan King Parrot

Coconut Lorikeet

Black-capped Lory

New Guinea Vulturine Parrot (which is a threatened species)

Common Paradise Kingfisher

Yellow-billed Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher

Hook-billed Kingfisher

Azure Kingfisher

Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher

Blue-Black Kingfisher

Shovel-billed Kingfisher

Dwarf Cassowary

Masked Bowerbird

Lowland Peltop

Highland Peltop

Black-browed Triller

Beautiful Fruit Dove

Pink-spotted Fruit Dove

Great-cuckoo Dove

Amboyna Cuckoo Dove

Pinon Imperial Pigeon

Zoe Imperial Pigeon

White-bellied Cuckooshrike

Boyer's Cuckooshrike

Black-sided Robin

Northern Phalarope

Olive-crowned Flowerpecker

Olive-backed Sunbird

Black Sunbird, and a lot more.

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

As a matter of fact, it is not only birds which visitors can see when they go hiking in the rainforest of Tambrauw mountains. Other animals such as snake, soa-soa lizard, deer, wild boar, tree kangaroo, wallaby, flying fox and fruit bats can also be seen. From May to October, visitors who travel along the coastal area of Tambrauw could see turtles at the beach including Leatherback, Olive-ridley, hawksbill and green turtles. 

Wildlife Optics

Your success of watching animals in Tambrauw mountains are influenced by the quality of sport optics that you bring during the tour. Every tour participants should bring at least a good pair of binoculars such as Nikon Action EX 12×50 CF, Olympus 10×50 DPS I, Swarovski EL 10×42 mm. 

Bringing a spotting scope is also recommended. From my previous experience of guiding tourists in the forest of West Papua, a Swarovski ATX 30-70×95 mm is one of the best wildlife watching gears that is available in the market today. I personally use a more affordable gear - Kinglux 20-60×60 mm. 

For taking pictures of birds and other wild animals in tall trees, bridge cameras such as Nikon Coolpix P1000, P900; Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV and Canon SX70HS are recommended. Photographers usually bring D-SLR camera with Sigma 150-600 mm Sport or Tamron 150-600 mm G2

Recommended Sites

Most of the areas in Tambrauw are suitable for wildlife watching tours. Weyos, Ases Valley, Mount Sakofsiah, Ayapokiar, Miyah, Fef, Syuan river are good locations for bird and wildlife watching.

Riverwalk Tour in Tambrauw

Government Policy

The regent of Tambrauw is Gabriel Assem, S.E., M.Si. He declared his territory as the Regency for Conservancy and Indigenous People on 29 October 2018. With this declaration, local government adopt the protection of nature and sustainable development as their main policies. Alternative or sustainable tourism is one of the main priorities of local government. Roads, bridges, and transportation hubs are being constructed to support it. Acommodation for travelers have also been built by local and village governments. There are guesthouses in Kebar, Ases valley, Ayapokiar village, Fef, and Sausapor town.

Official Tourist Guides

I highly suggest that visitors hire official tourist guides from Indonesian Tourist Guides Association branch Tambrauw (also called DPC HPI TAMBRAUW).  The chairman of  HPI Tambrauw now is Nico Nauw. His Whatsapp number is  +62 821-9806-0084. He and his team could support your wildlife watching trip to Tambrauw Mountains.

This is written by Charles Roring - DPD HPI Papua Barat

Also read:
Adventure Tours in Tambrauw Mountains