Merabu Village – The Witnesses To Ancient Civilizations & Hopes For The Future
The Amazing Merabu Village is a small village located in the Sangkulirang Mangkalihat Karst area. Merabu Village has a giant limestone landscape, It is located in two districts, namely Berau District and East Kutai District in East Kalimantan. The Sangkulirang Mangkalihat Karst area is a massive complex underwater system covered by dense tropical rainforest.
The Karst landscapes feature caves, underground streams and sinkholes on the surface. It is also home to a vibrant diversity of animals and plants, above and below the ground. Hundreds of caves were found in the Merabu Village Karst area, and some of these caves are witnesses of history, speleologists and archaeologists find bones, man-made objects, and cave paintings that are thousands of years old.
It’s a Dayak Lebo tribe, a small community living in Merabu Village, they originated from Mount Kulat on the southern border of Berau Regency and East Kutai Regency. They descended and spread across the lowlands on the upper banks of the Lesan River, Bengalun, Karangan and Pengadan Rivers, after the era of war between tribes began to subside.
Beloyot Cave – Between a trace of the ancestors and Dayak Lebo myth.
Beloyot Cave is one of the caves in the Merabu Village Karst Area. Beloyot Cave is located deep in the forest, about 5 km from Merabu village. Among the dense forest, Beloyot Cave keeps prehistoric paintings on the cave walls or rock art that are more than 6000 years old according to scientific research. The paintings contain handprints and other figures such as animals and humans. In this cave, there are around 26 handprint paintings and other painting patterns with diameters ranging from 13 – 20.5 cm.
The existence of this rock art is proof that human civilizations at Merabu Village in the past were familiar with art by using cave walls as canvases like paper or other media used by modern people today. Besides the scientific research, the local people believe that the handprint paintings on the cave walls are hand paintings made with magic by their ancestor named Bunga Inu, a beautiful woman descended from the Lebo Dayak tribe.
From Merabu Village, we do the medium trek through the forest for about 3 hours until we reach the bottom of the karst hill. After arriving at the bottom of the hill, the journey continues by climbing about 10 – 15 meters slope until you reach the cave mouth, then you will be caving for about 100 meters until you meet another cave mouth.
The Nyadeng Lake
The Nyadeng spring is a typical phenomenon that can be found in Merabu Village Karst areas. In the language of the Lebo tribe, Nyadeng means the only spring at the very end. In fact, Nyadeng Lake is a spring, but because it holds an area similar to a lake. This spring flows into Merabu Village and is used to meet the Merabu people’s daily needs. The color of Lake Nyadeng’s water can change following the season, sometimes it is bluish green and sometimes it is dark green colored.
In this area, tourists can set up tents or camp to experience staying in a pristine forest. There are facilities such as toilets, gazebos and tree houses so this area is suitable as a place to rest. The Nyadeng Lake can be accessed by taking a boat along the Lesan River from Merabu Village harbor for about 20 minutes, followed by light trekking over a wooden bridge with a distance of 1.3 km.
The Ketepu Peak
The Ketepu is one of the many Sangkulirang Mangkalihat Karst hills that can be seen from the Merabu Village area. The Ketepu peak is at an altitude of around 393 meters MDPL. From the top, we can see the majestic rows of karst towers. The best experience is to witness the sunset from the top of Ketepu Crop, a panoramic landscape of karst towers surrounded by a majestic dusky sky.
Another option is to enjoy the morning view of Ketepu Peak. Visitors can overnight in the Ketepu cave to wait for the sun to rise in the morning. Overnight in the Ketepu cave gives a sensation of experience of how humans in the past lived from cave to cave. In the morning a chill sensation you will experience where a misty panoramic of a karst tower is half covered by fog.
The Ketepu Peak can be reached from the Nyadeng Lake area and then continued with hill climbing about 400 meters long hill for around 2 hours on steep and rugged terrain.
You can reach the Merabu Village from Tanung Redep, Berau East Kalimantan. Contact us for more details.
