There is a moment, just after sunrise, when Baluran National Park feels almost unreal.

The light falls softly over the dry grassland. The outline of Mount Baluran rises in the distance. A group of Timor deer moves slowly across the savanna, stopping now and then to listen. Above them, birds circle in the pale morning sky. For a while, everything seems still, as if the land is holding its breath.

Located in Situbondo, East Java, Baluran National Park covers around 250 square kilometers. It is one of Indonesia’s oldest protected areas, first established as a nature reserve in 1937 during the Dutch East Indies period. Today, Baluran remains one of the most unique landscapes in Java — a place where forest, mangrove, coast, mountain, and savanna exist side by side.

Many people call Baluran “the little Africa of Java.” The name is easy to understand when standing in Bekol Savanna, one of the park’s most famous areas. The wide open grassland, dry wind, and scattered trees create a view that feels very different from the common image of tropical Indonesia. Yet Baluran is not an imitation of somewhere else. It has its own character, shaped by Java’s climate, ecology, and long relationship with the people living around it.

Baluran is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. At least 26 species of mammals live within the park. Among them are the Javan banteng, one of Baluran’s most iconic animals; the Javan leopard, rarely seen but silently present; Timor deer grazing in the open fields; and the shy Javan langur moving between the trees.

The sky also belongs to many birds of prey. Brahminy kites, changeable hawk-eagles, and crested goshawks can sometimes be seen flying above the forest and savanna. For those who walk slowly and pay attention, Baluran may offer small surprises: the flash of a green peafowl crossing the path, or the sound of an Oriental pied hornbill feeding among the branches.

Bekol Savanna is perhaps the most photographed part of the park. Its popularity grew even more after Indonesian singer Raisa Andriana used the area as the setting for one of her music videos. But beyond its beauty, Bekol is also a living habitat. Timor deer come here to feed. Birds rest in the trees. Reptiles move through the grass. Visitors are reminded to stay on the path and remain alert, as the area is also known as a habitat for cobras. The fences around parts of the savanna are not only boundaries for tourists, but also reminders that this is not a theme park. This is a wild space.

Baluran offers great potential for nature-based education. For students, families, researchers, and travelers, the park is an open classroom. It teaches about ecosystems, wildlife, water, climate, and the fragile balance between humans and nature. Every trail, tree, and animal track carries a lesson.

But Baluran is not only a destination. It is also a last stronghold.

For many protected species, the national park is one of the few remaining safe places in Java. Yet protection on paper does not always mean safety on the ground. Illegal hunting, human pressure, and habitat disturbance continue to threaten wildlife. Some animals are becoming harder to find. Some may disappear quietly, without many people noticing.

This is why Baluran’s beauty should not only invite admiration. It should also create responsibility.

To visit Baluran is to enter a landscape that is both enchanting and vulnerable. Its savanna may look wide and open, but its future depends on careful protection. Its animals may appear free, but their survival depends on decisions made by humans.

Under the spell of Baluran, we are reminded that nature is not only something to be seen. It is something to be respected, protected, and allowed to continue living on its own terms.