Kapuas River, Enchantment of the Beauty of the Longest River in Indonesia

For Advontura friends who have hobbies and dreams of exploring Indonesia, it won’t be complete if you don’t visit one icon Indonesia is the Kapuas River.

The Kapuas River is located in the province of West Kalimantan with a length of 1,143 km the longest river in Kalimantan and Indonesia at a time.

Not to mention the various cultural and environmental diversity in it that make this river even more special. Then why does this longest river in Indonesia have to be explored and visited? Come on, read the article to the end.

The Origin of the Kapuas River

The origin of the Kapuas River comes from a West Kalimantan folklore about two twin brothers who went to war and were cursed by their parents.

The war got worse and killed many common people. As a result of their actions, two twin brothers named Crocodile and Dragon were cursed to become a river crocodile and a dragon.

The dragon decided to stay in the river forever. This is what causes the image of the Kapuas River to bend like a dragon’s tail when viewed from above.

The myth of the dragon guarding the river has become a topic that is always hotly discussed. Both for the people of West Kalimantan and outside the West Kalimantan region.

Regardless of the folklore and legends circulating in the community, this river is the home of Siluk fish or commonly known as Arowana. This fish is believed to come from heaven and will bring good luck to every owner.

Because of its popularity, many people don’t hesitate to spend deeply to bring Arowana fish back to their homes. Even for a length of 40 cm, one fish can cost more than 2.5 million rupiah.

Unfortunately, this fish is one of the endangered fish due to heavy metal waste and several chemicals from gold and silver mining.

It has been recorded that for more than 30 years, no real Arowana fish have appeared. Even though in 2009 one Arowana fish appeared.

Even though this river has protected forests around it, it is still not enough to eliminate the impact of this pollution. Even today, the preservation of the Kapuas River is still a struggle for many parties.

Also Read: Waduk Sermo – Routes, Entrance Tickets & Interesting Activities

Tours and Festivals on the Kapuas River

activities in the Kapuas River
Kapuas river (Photo By inews.id)

Even though it is only a river, the uniqueness of the Kapuas River does not stop at its length, but is home to a variety of fresh fish, spearheads of livelihood for the local community, to interesting tourist sites that you can visit.

On this river, various festivals and Kapuas river tours are also often held which are a shame you should not miss. For Advontura friends who are interested in coming, here is a list of tours and festivals that you can enjoy:

Fresh Fish Hunt

Flowing all the way to East Kalimantan, this river is home to 700 species of fish. Where 12 of them are rare fish and 40 species of fish are almost endangered.

Not only that, this river has great freshwater fish potential. It was recorded that around 2 million tons of fish were scattered throughout the river area. Here you can also buy a variety of fresh fish which are sold at low prices in the markets.

Or if you don’t want to bother, you can also try various culinary menus of fresh fish typical of West Kalimantan at the nearest restaurant.

Kapuas River Tour Boat

The Kapuas River Tour Boat can be one of your choices if you want to get around further in this river tourist location.

It’s not just the ships that are specifically designed to make this tour interesting. But you also have the opportunity to see various historical buildings and activities of the indigenous people who live along the river.

Activities ranging from children swimming and playing in boats, people looking for fish, selling and so on can be found in this area. Coupled with the exotic view of the river at dusk, it will definitely be an unforgettable experience.

You can find this tour boat at Cafe Serasan or Taman Alun Kapuas. The fare offered is also very cheap, which is IDR 10,000 per person and you can already go around the river and at the same time pass the Jami Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman mosque.

West Kalimantan Regatta

The Kalbar Regatta is a group rowing competition which is held every year by fighting for 4 trophies. This activity is one of the attractions of the city of Pontianak.

Ornamental Ship

For those who want to experience something new other than boating, then a decorative boat festival might be the right choice for you. At this festival, visitors will be presented with a variety of stunning skills from ship decorators. Usually this festival is held to celebrate the anniversary of the city of Pontianak.

Malay Dance on a Sampan

As the name implies, this festival presents Malay dancers who will dance on canoes. This tends to be unique because usually dancing is only done on stage.

This dance is common during big events in the city of Pontianak. Want to try dancing on a canoe too?

Bath U-Shi

For Chinese adherents in Pontianak, Chinese New Year is also celebrated with the U-SHi Bath. Bathing in the Kapuas River is done as an effort to cleanse oneself and get rid of bad luck. This celebration is usually held during the day.

Hotels and Lodgings

Kapuas river inn
Lodging on the Kapuas River (Photo by mmc.kalteng.go.id)

For those of you who want to see the beautiful night atmosphere of the Kapuas River from above, while enjoying a relaxing night in the city of Pontianak. You can stay at several inns around the river.

Some recommendations for hotels and inns that you can try are the Kapuas Palace Pontianak Hotel, Transera Hotel Pontianak, Grand Kartika Hotel and so on.

For those who intend to stay there, it costs around Rp. 190,000.00 to Rp. 300,000.00 per room for every night.

This is information about the Kapuas River tourist attraction. Hopefully this article is useful for those of you who want to travel while learning more about the legends, uniqueness and festivals on the Pontianak river. See you in the discussion interesting sights other!

Also Read: Jatiluhur Reservoir – History, Location to Lodging

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