Road developments in the provinces of West Papua and Southwest Papua, West Papua Indonesia, are now increasingly comfortable for road users to travel to tourist attractions. The Directorate General of Highways of the Republic of Indonesia, through the West Papua Province National Road Implementation Center, continues to strive to build and maintain roads and bridges to facilitate access to tourist attractions in West Papua.

Featured programs or prioritized work on the Trans Papua main route which is the authority of the West Papua Province National Road Implementation Center, namely Trans Papua Segment I and Segment II. The Trans Papua Road in West Papua has been completely connected since the end of 2017.

Head of the West Papua Province National Road Implementation Center, Mauluddin Said Background, said that there are 49 National Road sections handled by the West Papua Province National Road Implementation Center, with a total length of 1,335.29 km.

“The handling pattern is divided into two segments, Segment I is from the city of Sorong to Manokwari with a length of 547.81 km, 537.1 km with flexible pavement (asphalt) and 10 km of rigid pavement (rigit/concrete) with a road surface made from selective materials. “Meanwhile, segment II from Manokwari to the Papua Parat border with Central Papua is around 524 km with 414.85 km of paved roads, 109.10 km is the Forest Entrepreneur Rights area which is still in production.” added Udin, his nickname.

These two segments of the National Road cross several tourist attractions in West Papua Province, including Lake Anggi in the Arfak Mountains, Mount Botak in Manokwari, Cenderawasih Bay in Wasior, and Triton Bay in Kaimana. Meanwhile, in Southwest Papua there is Raja Ampat in Sorong, Puncak Petik Bintang and Lake Framu in Maybrat.

Udin explained that one of the interesting tourist attractions in the Land of Cendrawasih is Mount Botak Manokwari. This tour is like being in a bay surrounded by hilly areas, and a place that is very clear and natural, and is supported by paved road access with stability of 95 percent as of February 2024.

“Mount Botak is located at KM 147 from Manokwari. It is called Mount Botak by the people, because the area is barren and barren, and the soil material is weathered rock, so it is difficult for plants to grow around it. “But the place is very beautiful, more beautiful than Labuan Bajo,” he said.

No less unique than Mount Botak tourism, in the Arfak Mountains there are two lakes that are interesting to visit, namely Lake Anggi Giji, usually known as Lake Laki and Lake Anggi Gida, which is often called Lake Perempuan.

The access road to the lake is paved for 41.11 km and has a total of seven bridges along the Warmare – Manyambouw – Anggi section, with a travel time of around 2 hours from the previous 5-6 hours from Manokwari.

As another interesting reference for tourism where 500 km of road access has been opened, namely the Negeri Above the Clouds tourist attraction or commonly known as Puncak Petik Bintang. These tourist areas are in mountain or hilly areas. Tourists who want to visit can leave Sorong at 3 am and arrive at the peak at 5 am, so they can get the atmosphere of being above the clouds.