Biawak Island

Biawak Island is located in the Java Sea and enters Indramayu Regency, with a distance of about 28 nautical miles or about 40 kilometers from the north coast of Tirtamaya Indramayu, Indramayu Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia.

The clean air and sea breeze feel when you step on Biawak Island. Not only that, the clear seawater and clusters of intact coral reefs add to the beautiful waters of Biawak Island. Coupled with the milling of colorful ornamental fish, inviting you to plunge and trace every inch of coral reef there.

The beauty of Biawak Island is even more apparent if you have the opportunity to tour the island with an area of ​​120 hectares. The island is rich with mangroves that are green and tightly seen from a height, as well as various other plants. Meanwhile, the name Biawak (Varanus salvator) is taken from the monitor lizards that roam and live in these islands.

Actually the name of this island is Rakit Island, but by the Indramayu Regency Government it is called Biawak Island because there are so many lizards that are characteristic of this island. This animal is unique because it lives in a saltwater habitat. Every time the sun goes down, dozens of lizards with a length of between 20 cm - 1.5 meters are seen swimming on the shore. The animals are indeed hunting fish for their food needs.

The existence of this island is very dangerous for the shipping lanes of ships passing through these islands. So it's no wonder, when the Dutch colonized the Indonesian archipelago, they built a lighthouse tower. The lighthouse with a height of about 65 meters was built by ZM Willem in 1885. This can be seen from the signboard that reads "Onder De Efcering van Z.M. Willwm III. Koning des Nederlanden, ENZ .., ENZ.,. Opgerigt Ovh Draailicht 1872 ”. Until now, the building is still functioning to guide ships large and small that pass. Seeing the age of the building, the lighthouse is estimated to be the same age as the lighthouse on Anyer Beach.

Not only natural and historical tourism, on this island you can also carry out pilgrimage tours. The reason is that there are a number of graves on the island, two of which are the tomb of Sheikh Imam who is said to be one of the leading figures who spread Islam in Indramayu. In addition there is the tomb of Z.M. Willem III, a Dutchman who first came to the island of Biawak and built a lighthouse.

The Indramayu Regency Government also only has two vessels for assistance from the West Java Provincial Government with a capacity of 30 people and 10 people. These two vessels are only operated every Saturday and Sunday with a rental rate of Rp 290 thousand / person. However, you can rent a motor fishing boat for IDR 2 million / 10 people.

With a boat belonging to the Indramayu Regency Government, you can cross to Biawak Island with a travel time of about 1-1.5 hours, while by motorboat it will take around 4 hours. The difference is that motorboats can be rented anytime or every day.