Explore WEST Sumatra

Rimbo Panti nature reserve dubbed the “green gem”, is a forest area in Bukit Barisan. The Sumatran cross path that connects the provinces of West Sumatra with North Sumatra passes through this nature reserve area. Rimbo Panti Nature Reserve is located in Panti District, East Pasaman Regency, about 30 km from the city of Lubuk Sikaping and 180 km from the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra.

The Rimbo Panti area has been designated as a nature reserve during the Dutch colonial government through Governor Besluit Stablaat 420 dated June 8, 1932 with an initial area of 3120 hectares. In 1979 the government designated a part of this nature reserve area as a tourist area named Taman Wisata Rimbo Panti through the Decree of the Minister of Agriculture No. 248/KPTS/UM/6/1979 dated June 1, 1979, covering an area of 570 hectares. Then the Minister of Forestry in 2011 expanded the tourist area to 571.10 hectares through the Decree of the Minister of Forestry No. 101/Menhut-II/2011. The Rimbo Orphanage Park is divided into three areas: (1) Outer boundary of 21.6 Ha (2) Protected forest area of 14.4 Ha (3) Tourist park area of 11.2 Ha.

The Rimbo Panti nature reserve includes swamp forests, tropical rain forests, and secondary forests. A nature reserve that is a habitat for various protected flora and fauna. The flora that can be found here is corpse flower (amorphophallus titanium), giant flower (rafflesia Arnoldi), various types of orchids, and Andalas tree (Morus macroura). For fauna, bird species are the pheasant (argusianus argus), hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), black eagle (ictinaetus Malaysia), and king prawn (Ceyx Erithacus). Meanwhile, for the mammal family, there is the sun bear (Helaetus malayanus), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang), mouse deer (Iragulus javanicus), and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae).

The area is interesting for those of you who are interested in wildlife, rare plants, or herbs. Don’t worry, you can ask the local community for help from a guide or an officer in the area to accompany you.
Entering the Rimbo Panti nature park, the coolness begins to be felt when passing through the thick trees on the left and right sides of the road. Visitors can enjoy the coolness of nature under the shady trees. In addition, the Rimbo Panti tourist area has interesting destinations to visit.

1. Hot springs
The hot springs here are in the form of hot springs that do not contain sulfur. This hot pool has a temperature of up to 100 degrees Celsius. Hot water comes from geothermal energy. Water that seeps into the earth’s crust then merges with hot rocks and comes out to the ground to form hot springs. The deeper these stones are buried, the higher the temperature and the hotter the rock. You can boil eggs in this pool. The pool is not wide but there are quite a few. You are not allowed to bathe in this pool.

2. Hot pool
The hot spring pool is located on the left side of the access road to the Rimbo orphanage tourist park. This pool is in one place but is divided into two for men and women. The water temperature ranges from 40-50 degrees Celsius, so it is safe for bathing. Bathing in a hot pool is very beneficial for relaxation

3. Herbarium Building
This building is a very useful educational place to get to know various kinds of herbs. This herbarium on certain days becomes a practical location for students from Padang State University (Universitas Negeri Padang) and Andalas University, as well as researchers. They learn about various plant species in the Rimbo Panti area by looking at their preservation.

The public facilities available at the Rimbo Panti tourist park are a prayer room used for worship for Muslim tourists, toilets, parking lots, and several food stalls. If you want to take a vacation, then the Rimbo Panti tourist park can be one of the destinations. It is visited by many tourists during holidays