Located in the western part of Bali, Plataran L’Harmonie encompasses the ecotourism forest area of West Bali National Park, covering an area of 382 hectares with a coastline of more than 7 km facing Menjangan Island, an island well-known as a divers’ paradise for its exotic beauty of the underwater world. This area has been developed for 18 years as an eco-tourism destination in Bali, of which for the past two years, the developments were done by Plataran. The park was first officially recognized as an area of importance in 1917 when the council of Bali rulers designated it as a nature park before it was fully established as an Indonesian National Park initiated in 1941 by the Dutch government with the purpose of protecting the endangered Bali Starling bird and the last remaining wild Banteng.
The integrated eco nature tourism area of Plataran L’Harmonie is the primary habitat of the Jalak Bali or Bali Starling (Leucopsar Rothschildi), an endangered and protected rare exotic bird. The population of this species is estimated to be very few in the world, therefore making this particular bird a World Heritage. The forest in Plataran L’Harmonie is also a unique forest, as it possesses distinct characteristics in the dry season and the rainy season consisting of primary monsoon forest, mangrove forest and lowland rain forest.
With more than 175 species of flora and 167 species of birds, the park is also used as a place of research, protection and preservation of natural ecosystems and their wildlife. Fauna that lives in the park is very diverse, some of which are rare and protected, among them are the Bali Starling, menjangan deer, grey monkey, bull, pheasants and leopard cats. For the flora, among others are sono keling, intaran, pilang, pangkal buaya, kesambi and sandalwood.
The wealth of the underwater nature in Plataran L’Harmonie is equally abundant. 110 species of coral belonging to 18 families, of which 22 species were of the mushroom coral family (there are only 29 species of mushroom coral recorded worldwide), and at least 27 species of Acropora coral are recorded. The area lies within the Coral Triangle, which is a 2.3 million square mile area that contains over 40% of fish species and over 75% of known coral reef species.
There are at least 8 dive spots found in this area; Eel Garden, Anchor Wreck, Sandy Slopes, Coral Gardens, Temple Point/Bat Cave, Pos Dua Nico’s Rock and Mandarin Point with depths ranging from 5 up to over 40 meters with visibility levels ranging from 10 up to 30 meters. Some species of fauna can be found at some points mentioned above including turtles, reef sharks, wahoo fishes, green turtles, moray eels, barracuda, crocodile fishes, trumpet fishes, eagle rays, pigmy seahorses, mandarin fishes and whales.
The comprehensive natural ecosystems, unique local cultures, and sustainable ecotourism facilities, have brought Plataran L’Harmonie West Bali National Park as a national ecotourism pilot project, as appointed by the Ministry of Tourism. This recognition marks another award for Plataran, joining a list of other accolades including an award as the Best National Park Operator by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the year 2015. Internationally, Plataran L’Harmonie has been recognized as one of the 100 World Green Destinations, obtained after going through several stages of rigorous selection by a panel of judges representing five international associations in the field of Sustainable Development. Finally, on 27 September 2016 in Ljubljana, Slovenia – the green capital of Europe, coinciding with World Tourism Day and Green Destinations Day, Plataran L’Harmonie was presented with an award as one of the 100 World Green Destinations, in the presence of 350 invited guests of the Global Green Destinations Gala, including representatives of the World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency specializing the fields of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
Furthermore, as a reflection of its commitment, Plataran has built a wide range of tourism-related facilities such as The Octagon – Ocean Club & Restaurant, Plataran Menjangan Resort & Spa, as well as private cruises and Phinisi that has been operating in the area of Plataran L’Harmonie. In addition, Plataran has been continuously developing more sustainable ecotourism facilities and programs, such as a summer school program organized by the Scientific Education Research Center (SERC) in cooperation with the Biosphere Foundation and Charleston College since 2012 with a focus of the introduction of the environment that has been successfully participated by the young from various nations (including the US) and. The native plants nursery is one of the interesting initiatives amongst other forest conservation programs.
In creating and conceptualizing an overall Master Plan for the area, Plataran L’Harmonie has appointed Hitesh Mehta, the world-renowned award winning sustainable tourism planner, of whom the reputation has been notably acknowledged by prestigious institutions such as the National Geographic. The overall master plan is then developed by Plataran L’Harmonie.
One of the attractive experiences offered to the visitors is a travel package to the Ijen Crater that is only 30 minutes by sea from Plataran L’Harmonie. Ijen crater is a high acidic crater lake located at the top of Mount Ijen, 2,443 meters high above sea level with a depth of 200 meters and a broad Lake crater reached 5,466 hectares. The lake is recognised as the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world.
Plataran Indonesia itself was founded in 2009 as an Indonesian company that houses various business units of tourism such as hotels, resorts, cruises, spas, restaurants, event venues and nature development area, spread across exotic regions in Indonesia. The word “Plataran” itself means “The God’s most favored place”.
The underpinning concept of Plataran is summarized with the Three Xs, namely: eXoticism, eXperience and eXcellence, with an emphasis on being a True Indonesian Icon.
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