Balikpapan Tourist Attractions

Balikpapan is ideal for outdoor fun, nature trekking, and beach lovers. It is located on the eastern coast of Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Balikpapan is a coastal town with several beaches, such as Segara Beach, Manggar Beach, Kemala Beach, Monument Beach, and Brigade Mobile Beach, near the police academy.

Balikpapan is an entry point for nature tourism. Wain River Protected Forest is the city's natural reserve covering 10,000 hectares. It is a habitat for several endangered animals, like the honey bear, sun bears endemic to the area, Orangutans, and Proboscis monkeys or locally known as Bekantan.

Below are some of the top attractions in Balikpapan.

Melawai Beach

Melawai Beach is a leading beach along Sudirman street, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. It is a favorite tourist destination in the city center for the local community in Balikpapan and its vicinity and for domestic and foreign tourists. This beach is situated between Semayang Port and Banua Patra Beach. This area is also a center for food and drinks at night.

Melawai Beach is an attractive site as it is situated at the city center and is close to Semayang Port in Balikpapan. Besides enjoying the beach, visitors could also see loading and unloading activities at the port, watch ships moving in and out, and enjoy various types of foods and drinks at the beach. During low tide, visitors can walk to Babi island, situated in the middle of Melawai Beach.

Kemala Beach

Address: East Kalimantan, Indonesia (Near the Balikpapan town center)

Kemala Beach, commonly known as Polda Beach, is one of the tourist destinations in Balikpapan City. Called Polda Beach because this beach is managed by the East Kalimantan Police.

Kemala Beach is located in the city center, on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan Province. Its location on the side of the road but blocked by office buildings makes this tourist attraction less striking.

The feel of Bali will be felt when you are on this beach. This is because from the soft white sandy beach with calm waves and coconut trees on the beach's edge, it is clear that high-rise buildings are on the beach.

In addition, there is a restaurant on this beach that is arranged like a restaurant in Bali. Kemala Beach always offers a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, so it's no wonder this beach is always crowded with visitors.

Moreover, the location of this beach is in the heart of the city. In addition to playing sand and swimming at this beach, you can also try the watersports offered by Kemala Beach, such as a banana boat, jet ski, and flying fox.

Mangrove Center Graha Indah

Address: PGRI, Graha Indah Gg. Mangrove VI No.RT. 14, Batu Ampar, Kec. Balikpapan Utara, Kota Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur 76129, Indonesia

The Mangrove Center in Graha Indah is 15km from Balikpapan town. This place is a residential area surrounded by mangrove trees. One of the visiting spots in Balikpapan.

Tourists may rent a boat; if lucky enough, some monkeys may show up swinging from one tree to another.

The Wain River Forest

The Wain River forest is located in the northern portion of Balikpapan, East Borneo. It is a conservation and research area with diverse life forms and extraordinary tourism potential.

The forest is situated in a lowland area. It has three grove types; marsh, dipterocarp, and riverine.

The Wain River forest serves as a source of clean water for both the residents of Balikpapan and the needs of the oil industry of Pertamina. This lowland forest covers a limited area. It is home to many creatures rarely found elsewhere, such as sun bears.

About nine species of primates are also found in this forest, such as silvery gibbons, monkeys, orangutans, black leaf monkeys, pig-tailed monkeys, and macaques.