Loksado, Hulu Sungai Selatan (ANTARA) - As the sun rises, its golden rays illuminate the landscape, a number of tourists enjoy the natural atmosphere of the tropical forest on the banks of Amandit River in Lok Lahung Village, Loksado Sub-district, Hulu Sungai Selatan District, South Kalimantan Province.
The sound of the river's gurgling water signified the serenity of the forest, bringing us to a peaceful, calm and quiet atmosphere far from the hustle and bustle of the city.
A middle-aged man, Thomas Harianto, a native of Meratus Dayak tribe, is busy assembling adult arm size bamboos. Around 12-16 bamboos are assembled into a raft.
Thomas enthusiastically carries his tools to guide a group of tourists to cruise the tropical forest in the village using his bamboo rafts that accomodate a maximum of three passengers.
Thomas, along with other 40 jockeys, have been doing this profession since 2015. "Back then, we called the bamboo rafts lanting, but now they're better known as bamboo rafting," he said.
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From the riverbank, they start the rafting, speed along using long bamboo poles as control, guiding tourists along the Amandit River that cuts through tropical forest of Meratus Mountains.
The virgin river terrain is challanging. When the water level rises, it can get an adrenalin rush due to the strong current. Large boulders and fallen tree branches block the river. These challanges attract local and international tourists to conquer Amandit River.
Along the way, tourists will encounter a variety of geological formations, such as the 108-182 million-year-old Malihan group (Middle Jurassic) and volcanic rocks, the 96-135 million-year-old Batanglai/Belawaian Granite group (Late Cretaceous).
You'll also see the diversity of tropical rain forest plants, the activities of Meratus Dayak typical farming, bamboo trees that they use to build rafts. Bamboo thrives in this area thanks to the weathered soil of volcanic activity.
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After traveling the longest distance of about 14 kilometers, tourists use local transportation --costing tens of thousand rupiah-- to return to their accomodation.
For bamboo rafting, Thomas and other jockeys charge around Rp200,000 to Rp300,000 for a one-way trip with the shortest route taking 30 minutes and the longest taking 3 hours.
Thanks to bamboo rafting, a mutual assistance economy emerged boosting the income of local residents. Not only jockeys benefit, but so do other residents. Residents became economically independent by providing motorcycle taxi services, opening restaurants, lodging, renting tourist equipment, and providing various micro-businesses, as well as other services and facilities needed by tourists.
Traditional transportation
Before 1994, bambo rafting or lanting was the main water transportation for Dayak community in Loksado. People brought forest and garden products to sell in town and to buy groceries.
Due to difficult land access, only footpaths, lanting were the only means for Meratus Dayak to navigate Amandit River. With the rapid infrastructure development, bamboo rafting turned into a leading tourist attraction.
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In 2015, local residents offered lanting service to generate income. They offered jockey service to transport people to various locations along the Amandit River.
In 2016, bamboo rafting gained popularity through the Loksado Festival. It became a leading tourist attraction, and the festival became better known as the Bamboo Rafting Festival. The increasing number of tourists has become a source of income for the bamboo rafting jockeys.
The Bamboo Rafting Festival combines various cultural and natural attractions rooted in the culture and traditions of the Dayak indigenous people of the Meratus Mountains, with bamboo rafting as the main attraction.
"Bamboo rafting is not just a water tourism, but a traditional heritage of the Meratus Dayak that has become an icon of regional pride," said the Regional Secretary of Hulu Sungai Selatan, Muhammad Noor.
Meratus Geopark
In 2018, bamboo rafting and 53 other sites that make up the Meratus Geopark, were officially designated as National Geopark by the Indonesian National Geopark Committee.
It is a geographical area with a highly valuable geological heritage comprising biodiversity and culture, and integratedly managed for conservation, education, and sustainable development.
Geopark has 54 sites along the eastern, southern, western, and northern routes. Bamboo Rafting Loksado is the 49th site located on the northern route, characterized by biological sites, primarily for nature tourism, research, and education.
Thanks to the commitment of the local government, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized the Meratus Geopark as a Geologic Heritage (GEO), and officially became a member of the UNESCO Global Geopark (UGGp).
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The recognition was proof by the receipt of the UGGp certificate for the Meratus Geopark by South Kalimantan Governor Muhidin in France on June 3, 2025.
South Kalimantan Regional Secretary Muhamad Syarifuddin explained that Meratus Geopark's commitment to bamboo rafting is part of community empowerment to continue to revitalize the village economy, especially after its official recognition by UNESCO.
"Many people are investing, opening restaurants, providing accomodation for tourists, small and micro business, and many others," said Syarifuddin.
With the Dayak culture still intact, the local government designed the Meratus Geopark as a collaborative effort with customary communities to maintain and strengthen environmental conservation efforts in the Meratus Mountains.
By strengthening infrastructure, Loksado, which has become a strategic national tourism area with various annual events under the Ministry of Tourism's Kharisma Event Nusantara (KEN), has a special attraction for both local and international tourists.
Efforts to expand economic access for local residents appear to be continuing with the opening of direct international flights from South Kalimantan to
Malaysia, via Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarbaru to Kuala Lumpur.
This concrete step is a big hope for the economic growth of the Meratus Dayak people in Loksado, as more tourists will visit bamboo rafting, especially after the Meratus Geopark was officially recognized by UNESCO.
"With the geopark, Loksado will become even more known for its unique tourism and Dayak cultural traditions," said Sano, a member of Lok Lahung Village Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis).
The Meratus Dayak people hope that the Meratus Geopark will stengthen the role of the government and citizens in preserving the nature. They do not want any drastic changes to the nature.
The Meratus Geopark must not give any opportunity for certain group who are destroying environment to exploit the natural resources and forests of Meratus.
As a native people, who have live for a very long time from generation to generation, they strongly committed to preserving the nature of Meratus Mountains for the sake of environmental sustainability and the lives of their children and grandchildren.