lesser bird of paradise (paradisaea minor) source: Wikipedia

two male birds of paradise in Senopi village, Photographer: Wim and Vicky Boyden

Have you decided your travel destination for this year's vacation? If you have, after reading this article, I hope that you would reconsider it. If you are somebody who likes bird watching and hiking, then Senopi village in Tambrauw Mountains of Papua island of the Republic of Indonesia is my recommendation for you. Senopi is a small village located in Kebar valley. It is a 7-hour ride from Manokwari city, the capital of West Papua province. In recent years, the number of tourists visiting this village is increasing. Most of them come from the Netherlands. Tourists from the Netherlands have sufficient information in Dutch language about eco-tourism in Senopi village of Manokwari regency. With this short article that is written in English, I hope that more and more people will recognize it and will be interested in visiting Senopi. To reach the village, you need to use a rent car. It is better to hire experienced driver to bring you there. I can help you find the driver and the rent car. The cost of transportation for Manokwari city - Senopi village (go and return) is 6 million rupiahs or around 685 US dollars.
Tourists who are nature lovers go there to see birds of paradise, the mascot of Papua island (also called New Guinea) - the second largest island in the world after Greenland. Experts in bird watching say that bird of paradise is one of the most beautiful species in the world. Its head is yellow and its front neck is dark green (see painting of birds of paradise). The feather of the wings is brown with significant part of its tail have the colors of white and yellow. This is the typical appearance of male Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea Minor). The feather of the female bird is not as attractive as the male one. Another species of bird of paradise with bigger body is Greater Bird of paradise (Paradisaea apoda). Their plumage or feathers look similar but they are not the same as the lesser one. Male birds of paradise have to compete with one another in performing natural dance to attract the female birds. Mating is done when a female is attracted by the courtship performance.

a male bird of paradise in Senopi village, Photographer: Wim Boyden

In Senopi village, we can see a lot of birds of paradise birds paradise and various other tropical birds such as white cockatoo, goliath cockatoo, crown pigeon, hornbill and lory that live in the tropical rainforest of Papua. In recent years, these magnificent birds are being hunted alive or dead. Buyers or animal collectors in such big cities as Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya pay large amount of money for Papuan birds. To stop the hunting of these precious birds, volunteers from Keuskupan Manokwari-Sorong in Senopi village try to offer an alternative solution for the villagers through eco-tourism project and various health and educational activities. The fund to run the projects is obtained from donation and money paid by tourists for the accommodation services that they get in the village. Besides watching birds of paradise, you can also see cuscus (Spilocuscus maculatus) and deer. Both cuscus and deer are cute animals in front of our eyes but for the indigenous people, their meats are important because they are very delicious. Cuscus and deer are nocturnal animals meaning that they go out to find food in the night. Besides mammals, you can see beautiful orchids and flowers in the forest. Early morning jungle walk in Senopi village will make your holiday in this valley more refreshing and interesting.
Accommodation
There is a small but comfortable lodge in Senopi village operated by local Papuan villagers under the coordination of volunteers from Keuskupan Manokwari-Sorong. Here, you can sleep at nights and enjoy the beauty of the nature during the days. The rate is approximately 29 US dollars per room per night. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you will need to pay around 7 dollars per day. Senopi village is located in Kebar valley surrounded by Tambrauw mountains. It is very quiet here, suitable for those who want to escape from hazel and buzzle of the city living. If you need more information about traveling in Senopi village for watching birds of paradise or other interesting places in Manokwari regency as a whole, you could contact me Charles Roring at lroring@yahoo.com also click SDSP foundation's website.

Further information about eco-tourism in this region, please, visit my other blog Manokwari Papua.

Also read:

Paradise birds facing extinction

Oil painting of birds of paradise