Sukamade Beach

Sukamade Beach Banyuwangi

Sukamade beach is about 97 km to southwest of Banyuwangi. It is a natural, quiet, beautiful place and part of the 50,000 hectare Meru Betiri National Park. Almost every night of the year, turtles appear on Sukamade beach to lay eggs. It is clearly a globally important site and one which is protected 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by the over-worked park rangers. 

Some eggs are taken by the rangers to protect them from predators, both human and other animals. These are incubated in the safety of the park hatchery and the youngsters are released to the ocean on the very beach from where the eggs were laid. There are similar beaches within the park boundary but it seems to be Sukamade that the turtles prefer. The stability of the turtle population has been helped by a careful system of tagging and monitoring, as well as the use of the special hatcheries.

Watching these giant creatures emerge from the surf and struggle-up the beach to lay their eggs on a moonlit night is a unique and unforgettable experience, and one which is certain to ensure Sukamade's ever-growing profile. This is certainly off the beaten track and requires some effort to reach but it is very worthwhile indeed. At Sukamade Beach itself: green sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, olive ridley turtle and the occasional leatherback. The wilderness jungle of the surrounding Meru Betiri National Park is probably the last hope for a surviving Java tiger. The only recent evidence though has been footprints and faeces and your chance of seeing one is as close to nil as to be irrelevant. Some of the rangers believe the tiger is already extinct while even the most optimistic estimates put the population in low single figures. Other mammals present in the park include banteng, leopard cat, wild pig, muntjac and Java rusa deer. There is also a diverse and varied birdlife.