Tourist Destination in Papua : Youtefa Bay.

Youtefa Bay As seen from Cicak Park, Jayapura.

Have you ever visited Jayapura? If haven't, you will be fascinated by the natural beauty of this port city. This city is right on a bay in the night decorated with lights of houses spread throughout the hillside. And also imagined you were on the sea voyage to Jayapura through the bay, you would be amazed by the magical view.

Isn't it  awesome there are plenty of touristy places in the city, ranging from the beach, the lake, as well as a stunning view from a height. Youtefa bay is no exception. Youtefa bay is a bay with very beautiful panorama. You will find in Youtefa bay three villages namely Enggros, Tobati, dan Nafri where its local culture and tradition remains intact. Here, you can learn how local people practice their tradition like installing a new village head, building traditional houses, called Rumah Panggung made of woods.

This bay has special meanings in the World War II,  both to Japanese soldiers as well Allied and US Forces because its strategic location. On April 19, 1942, Japanese soldiers made way into Youtefa bay and landed at PIM and Abe Pantai. Believing that West Papua was a strategic location, then the Japanese harbored two war ships with their marine forces at Youtefa  bay on on May6, 1942. 

Apart from natural wealth, the bay also has many World War II remains.  In the bay you can find the remains of war ships belonged to both Japanese and Allied forces. In Abe pantai, a war memorial of Japanese landing was built. The covered naturally bay made it a main strong defense. Besides, the logistics belongs to the Japanese in the West Papua was acknowledged by the Allied forces as the biggest and strongest of all Japanese forces in the Pacific.

Geographically, Youtefa Bay Tourism Park area is located between 02 ° 31' 00 - 02 ° 42' 00 south latitude and 142 ° 37' 00 - 142 ° 48' 00. The nature park of Youtefa bay was appointed by the Decree of the Minister of Agriculture numbers: 372 / Kpts / Um / 6/1978 dated on June 9, 1978. Then, in 1996, the legal status of the Youtefa bay area was reinforced with the publication of the Decree of the Minister of Forestry Decree No. 714 / Kpt-II / 1996 dated on November 11, 1996, on the establishment of the bay region as a conservation area of Youtefa bay with designation as Nature Park covering an area of 1,675 hectares.

Tourism Park Youtefa is flanked by two headlands jutting out of the left side of Tanjung Pie and Tanjung Saweri on the right side, only separated by a narrow channel with a width ± 300 meters called the Strait Tobati and at the same time is the entrance and exit bay Youtefa of sea direction (Yos Sudarso bay).

Tourism Park Youtefa bay is  covered by low-lying areas which are flat to undulating with an altitude range 0-73 meters above sea level. There are mangrove forests and other parts There are other mountainous areas, and also sago forests on the sidelines of the mountain. Two streams empty  to the Natural Park of the Gulf Youtefa are Acai river and Entrop river with a width of ± 20 meters.

On the flat area with a height not exceeding 75 msl, which has organosol-alluvial soil types, exactly along the beaches and Tanjung Kaswari and Tanjun Pie overlooking the Youtefa bay is dominated by mangrove vegetation. On the west bank of the gulf coast, besides the mangroves, it is also found the existence of a kind of coniferous trees  and marine kaswari .  

While to the opposite of Tanjung Pie and Tanjung Kaswari  overlooking the northern part of the Jos Soedarso bay is dominated by coconut palms (Cocos nutcifera L) and there is also ketapan (Terminalia cattapa), Pandanus sp, Callophyllum inophyllum, Baringtonia asiatica. In the area of hills that have soil types of latosol, also found many pioneer vegetation like a plant of the type Intsia bijuga, Pometia sp, Ficus benjamina, the type of pandanus, nuts, shrubs and some types of ferns and type of orchid-orchids like Dendrobium sp, Gramatophyllum papuana , Bulbophyllum sp.

There are many alternative of access into the Park. First, from Jayapura City center  to the south within ± 4km by walk, it can reached within 15 minutes. Also from Jayapura city center, along the road from Abepura to Jayapura along approximately 13 km to the south, it can b reached by around 25 minutes. And from Abepura City around 2 km to the East of roads from Abepura  to Tanah Hitam reached within 10 Minutes.

Source: Jelajah Wisata Nusantara by Tri Maya Yulianingsih and  http://www.wisatapapua.com/2014/03/wisata-taman-wisata-alam-teluk-youtefa.html