Home ATTRACTIONS City/Village Desa Wisata Kampung Merasa, Kelay, Berau, Kalimantan Timur

Desa Wisata Kampung Merasa, Kelay, Berau, Kalimantan Timur

May 3, 2016

Location : Kampung Merasa, Kecamatan Kelay, Kabupaten Berau, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia.

We left Miau Baru with a sense of satisfaction and heading towards Tanjung Redeb we had to pass by the sub-district or ‘Kecamatan’ of Kelay where a mixture of Bahau, Kenyah and Kayan tribes are spread over.

adventure, budaya, culture, Ethnic, indigenous, native, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak, tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribal, tribe, wisata alam, — Very clean and nice place

adventure, authentic, culture, east kalimantan timur, indigenous, indonesia, native, sculptures, Suku Dayak, Totem Pole, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, — 2 other villages from here are Long Beliu and Long Sului

Moving on, next was Wehea Park. Stopped by to ask the guard manning the boom gate what the attraction was in this ‘touristic’ place. He said it was jungle and more jungle. When we first asked how far the drive was, he replied ’30min’ but when we asked a second time the same question it became 1hr. This guy scared me. He had no idea what he was selling and no photos to show. Decided not to take the bait if any at all.

adventure, authentic, Berau, Borneo, indigenous, native, nature, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Suku Dayak, Totem Pole, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribe, wisata alam, tribal, — Entrance to Dayak Wehea Park

Berau, indigenous, kalimantan timur, Kampung Merasa, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, village, wisata alam — Dusty road + smoggy sky = Not the best day to catch a good shot

The first village (among the 14) we were attracted to was a Kenyah village by the name of Merasa. At least the welcoming arch was attractive.

authentic, Berau, Borneo, budaya, culture, east kalimantan timur, indigenous, native, sculptures, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Sungai Kelay, Totem Pole, tourist attraction, traditional, tribal, tribe, village, — Kampung Merasa welcoming arch

authentic, Berau, budaya, culture, Ethnic, indigenous, Kampung, native, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Kelay, Totem Pole, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, tribe, wisata alam, — Cellphone number of the portal maker, Jiu

adventure, authentic, Berau, indigenous, Kampung Merasa, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Sungai Kelay, Totem Pole, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, wisata alam — Noisy hornbill up in the tree caught our attention as we were inspecting the arch at Merasa. Being able to see a hornbill in the wild gives me much satisfaction

But we soon found out after driving 30 min to the village that it was just another modern community with detached houses.

adventure, Berau, Borneo, budaya, indigenous, indonesia, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, wisata alam, — Jembatan Gantung, nice bridge

adventure, authentic, Borneo, culture, Ethnic, indigenous, native, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, tribal, village, wisata alam — Merasa village

adventure, Berau, Borneo, culture, east kalimantan Timur, indigenous, Kampung, Balai, native, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Kelay, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, tribal, wisata alam, — Balai / Community hall

authentic, Berau, budaya, culture, east kalimantan timur, Ethnic, indigenous, indonesia, Kampung Merasa, Lumbung Padi, native, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Sungai Kelay, Tourism, traditional, village, — Lumbung padi / Paddy silo

authentic, Borneo, culture, Ethnic, indigenous, Kampung Merasa, native, nature, sculptures, Suku Dayak, Sungai Kelay, Totem Pole, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, — Totem pole

authentic, Berau, Borneo, budaya, culture, indonesia, Kampung, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Sungai Kelay, Totem Pole, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, tribal, tribe, wisata alam, — Interesting volleyball net posts

adventure, Borneo, budaya, Ethnic, Indonesia, Kampung Merasa, native, Obyek wisata, Sungai Kelay, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, — Convenience store

authentic, Borneo, budaya, Ethnic, indigenous, native, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak Kenyah, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribe, village, wisata alam — Nice house

The only house worth spending time was one built in 1976 belonging to a couple by the name of Jalung and Urai with the Kenyah culture still intact.

Berau, adventure, culture, east kalimantan timur, Ethnic, indigenous, Borneo, native, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Suku Dayak, Sungai Kelay, Tourism, Jembatan gantung, traditional, travel guide, tribe, — Built in 1976

authentic, Berau, culture, Ethnic, indonesia, Kampung Merasa, native, adventure, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, obyek wisata alam, — The only house with Dayak deco

adventure, authentic, Berau, Borneo, budaya, culture, indigenous, Kampung Merasa, native, Obyek wisata, sculptures, Suku Dayak, Kelay, Totem Pole, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, — Chatting with the guide and lady owner Urai

Berau, budaya, culture, east kalimantan timur, Ethnic, indigenous, indonesia, native, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak, Kelay, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, tribe, — Big floor planks

adventure, Berau, budaya, culture, indigenous, Kampung Merasa, native, nature, Obyek wisata, Suku Dayak, Sungai Kelay, Tourism, tourist attraction, travel guide, tribal, tribe, village, — Belian shingles

The river passing through this village looked impressive but we just didn’t have enough time to enjoy a swim.

In retrospect, I would say the drive from Kelay to Tanjung Redeb was the most captivating in terms of the close proximity of the virgin jungle to the road. Sitting in the car drifting through those giant trees was like a dream. Pray it will stay that way forever. Nowhere else in Borneo had I experienced the same.