Merauke City is a county town located at the eastern end of Indonesia. The privilege that we rarely hear turns out to save so much. Not only that, the City is also the last point of Indonesian territory which borders directly with the State of Papua New Guinea.
This makes the existence of this city truly meaningful and special to the history of Indonesia’s founding struggle to be part of a struggle song entitled “From Sabang to Merauke”.
The origins of the City of Merauke turned out to be a unique story at which time the first Dutch entered the South Papua region, precisely around the Maro River. They asked the Marind tribe (the native tribe of Merauke) about the name of this region. The Marind people do not understand Dutch or Indonesian, they can only say that this river is the Maro River, which in Marind reads “Maro Ka Ehe”. From then on, the area was named “Maro Ka Ehe” which we often know until now has become Merauke.
It is known that the Marind tribe which is a native thinks that the Maro river is more important than the name of the area where a forest is Gandin.
As a region that has a lot of historical value in Indonesia’s struggle, of course, this city has historic sites that commemorate the founding of Indonesia which we should visit while in Merauke.
One of them is a twin monument in the Sota district. This Tugu has only two in Indonesia, one in Merauke and the other in Sabang. This Tugu is a warning of the easternmost and westernmost borders of the Indonesian State.
In addition, there is also the Sota Park, in this place, there is a memorial to the eastern boundary of Indonesia and its coordinate information. This park is not only a marker of Indonesia but also a tourist spot for the surrounding community.
Some of the natural tourist destinations that can be visited are Lake Rawa Blue, Wasur National Park, Lamp One Beach, Imbuti Beach, Payum Beach, and Onggaya Beach.
In Merauke, there are common types of animals in the jump including tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus spadix) king musk (psittrichus fulgidus), cassowary gelambir (casuarius sclateri), mambruk birds (goura cristata), large yellow souvenirs (paridisea apoda novaeguineae), king’s souvenirs (cicinnturus regius rex), red souvenirs (paradisea rubra), freshwater crocodiles (crocodylus novaeguineae) and saltwater crocodiles (crocodylus porosus).
It is this bird of paradise that characterizes Papua and is designated as an animal originating from Papua. High-value and amazing biodiversity also exists in Merauke, we can visit in Wasur National Park. This area is better known as “Serengeti of Papua”.
If tourists want to buy souvenir items typical of Merauke crafts, there is one typical Merauke craft that is interesting and worth buying. These crafts are items made from crocodile skin.
Crocodile skin is one of the leading home industries for the Merauke community, this is due to the large crocodile population in Merauke. So this is legally legal because there is a special policy for Merauke on hunting crocodiles that remain under the supervision of the local government.
Usually, these leather crafts can be in the form of wallets, belts, shoes, bags, and even golf bags that are quite unique and valuable are quite expensive. This craft activity is a way for the government to improve the standard of living in Papua especially Merauke.
As an Ended City, Merauke has its own privileges that we deserve to respect and protect. Merauke deserves to be a tourist destination in the Province of Papua because of its quiet territory, not much pollution, and friendly population. And until now Merauke continues to beautify its city as the easternmost tour in Indonesia.
