Indonesia

Lorentz National Park

WHS Score 3.34
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Votes 2 Average 4.25
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Votes for Lorentz National Park

4.0

  • Zoë Sheng

4.5

  • Joshuakirbens

Lorentz National Park is an outstanding example of the biodiversity of New Guinea, and one of the most ecologically diverse national parks in the world.

This very large park is located where the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates collide. It contains a full altitudinal array of ecosystems spanning marine areas, mangrove, tidal and freshwater swamp forests, lowland and montane rainforests, alpine areas, and equatorial glaciers. Puncak Jaya (4884m) is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes. The endangered Dingiso tree kangaroo is found here, as well as short-beaked echidna, long-beaked echidna and two threatened species of crocodiles.

Community Perspective: Zoë tried to get grips on the park using Wamena as a base. Lake Habbema (a birders' favourite) is the only part that is accessible by road, according to the IUCN evaluation. It is also possible to fly with Asian One Air from Timika to Akimuga, which lies in the core zone but provides no infrastructure to explore the natural surroundings.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Lorentz National Park (ID: 955)
Country
Indonesia
Status
Inscribed 1999 Site history
History of Lorentz National Park
1999: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • viii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Diverse ecosystems
Travel Information
One thousand visitors or fewer
One thousand visitors or fewer
“Owing to difficulties with security and access and lack of facilities, tourists totalled less …
Recent Connections
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Connections of Lorentz National Park
Geography
Trivia
Ecology
  • Cloud forest
    The mid-montane zone which is known as cloud or mossy forest, is dominated by Nothofagus species and starts about 1,500m (UNEP-WCMC)
  • Turtles and tortoises

    the rare pig-nosed turtle (UNEP-WCMC)

  • Mangroves
  • Beech Forests
    Nothofagus beech forests
  • Rainforests
  • Crocodiles
  • Critically endangered fauna species
    Western Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) - "has not been recorded since the 1980s" in the park

    See www.iucnredlist.org

  • Ratites
    southern cassowary
  • Peat
    freshwater peat swamps (UNEP-WCMC)
  • Significant Karst Features
    World's best example of tropical alpine glaciated karst (AB ev)
  • High-Biodiversity Wilderness Area
    New Guinea, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
  • Tidal effects
    tidal swamps (Coastal WHS)
  • Swamps and Marshes
    "The park ... has a large number of streams and rivers which have cut deep valleys in the mountains and foothills as they drain south to the coastal plain. Here they form extensive areas of swamps with numerous permanent and seasonal lakes" (AB ev)
  • Refugium
    "Criterion (x): The mountain building processes that have occurred over time have provided temperate refuges in the tropics for ancient Gondwanan plant species during the climatic warming that has occurred since the last ice age. For example, Lorentz National Park’s Nothofagus beech forests are well represented, although their closest relatives are otherwise confined to the cool temperate regions of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand and the southern Andes." (OUV)
  • Over 300 bird species
    "the avifauna is likewise extremely rich, with 411 species recorded, including at least 20 species endemic to Irian Jaya. Notable species include 2 species of cassowary, 4 megapodes, 30 parrots, 20 birds-of paradise and 6 species of bowerbirds" (AB).
  • Over 100 mammal species
    "Some 123 mammals have been recorded from the reserve, representing 80% of the total mammalian fauna of Irian Jaya." (IUCN ev)
Damaged
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
  • Language isolate
    Damal (Amung/Uhunduni)- According to the nomination dossier, the Damal tribe inhabits the highlands of the park. Damal is proposed as a part of Trans-Papua, but this affiliation has been rejected by Glottolog due to lack of evidence.
  • Natural sites with indigenous human population
    The forests of Lorentz encompass the traditional lands of several ethnic groups, including the Asmat, Amungme, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga.
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Late Pleistocene
    The lowering and rising of the sea level during the glacial and inter-glacial periods of the Pleistocene, along with continuous activity in the mobile belt which characterizes the contact zone of the two colliding lithospheric plates, has continued to promote the great biodiversity of the island of New Guinea in general, and in the Lorentz area in particular. (EOEarth)
Visiting conditions
WHS Names
News

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Community Reviews

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First published: 15/03/23.

Zoë Sheng

Lorentz National Park

Lorentz National Park (Inscribed)

Lorentz National Park by Zoë Sheng

Took me years to accomplish visiting and even then it wasn't easygoing though it should have been rather simple. First off while you see the park on Google Map that isn't really where the park starts and ends. The inscription file has a map and it's different again so eventually I gave up trying to figure out where the park is really. One forum online quoted "the park only exists on paper" and it's really just nature that keeps going and going. If you look at Google you will find no real towns in the park either. Trying to enter from Timika was an idea but again there is nothing touristy from there. Then I stumbled across Wamena in the highlands. It's beyond the mountains and outside the world heritage site but it's in my opinion the only way to reach the park.

Flying into Wamena is quite easy as there are daily flights from Jayapura and that is connected well with Sorong and beyond. I took an overnight flight from Bali via Makassar and another town before connecting with the flight to Wamena. You don't really want to stay in Jayapura if you can avoid it.

Wamena is quite small but has hotels and restaurants to make you feel comfortable enough. Most people that come here are trekkers. Don't expect a fancy trip. You don't need to arrange a permit to visit the area even though it says with many online sources but the hotel assured me …

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