Places to Explore Near Kilim Karst Geoforest Park
A) Biodiversity
1. Mangrove Flora: Mangroves can withstand extreme weather conditions including strong water currents, high temperatures, high salinity, strong winds and muddy soils in anaerobic states. The term mangrove points to trees, plants, ferns shrubs, palms etc mainly called mangrove swamps. The mangrove of Kilim is generally composed of two types, Bakau Kurap (Rhizophora mucronata) and Bakau Minyak (Rhizophora apiculata).
2. Limestone Flora: The limestones of the Kilim Geoforest Park date back to 500 million years in the past. The limestone structures are found almost everywhere inside this place with beautiful colours and shapes.. The most unique species is the limestone cycad found in the limestone hills. Beautiful yellow flowers are famously known to grow on the limestone deposits.
3. Fauna: The biodiversity index of Kilim Geoforest Park is impressive as there is a variety of species of different animals are found here. 34 species of Mangrove fauna, 33 species of snakes, 25 species of mammals and a whopping 238 species of birds are found in this area. Among 84 species of butterflies found here, 22 of them are the rarest species belonging to Geoforest Park only.
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B) Geological Wonders
1. Rock Diversity: The oldest carbonate rock in the region, dates back to almost 500 million years ago, While the intermost of the rocks are made of Setul formation, the younger rocks are of Singa formation with layers of sandstone in them. Karst hills with overhanging cliffs, limestone caves, and bare rocks are diverse rocks found in this region.
2. Landform Diversity: The Setul limestone of the Geoforest park got dissoluted, resulting in different shapes and forms of the pinnacles, islands and hills. The most interesting outcome of this dissolution of rock formations are needle-like structures, known as pinnacles. Rock formations enlarge and join together in a series to form a lake tunnel showcasing different beautifully shaped and coloured limestone deposits.
3. Fossil Diversity: Fossils of the Geoforest park try to speak about the Setul and Singa formations dating back to 500 to 200 million years ago. These fossils are mainly inside limestones and detrital rocks taking shapes of moulds, karsts, traces and imprints. Fossils are found here in various shapes such as spiral ones in different colours.
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Tips to Visit Kilim Karst Geoforest Park
- Make sure to pre-book your tickets as this place is a crowded place leading to sold-out tickets.
- Be careful while entering inner tunnel lakes as it is home to hundreds of bats.
- Carry medicines with you in case of any discomfort near saline waters.
- Stay hydrated as this place involves continuous exploration.
- Be careful while feeding the eagles at different places in this park.
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