The Ancient Beauty of Karst
Word: Ayu Arman
Previously, the 4 hectares of karst bed in Balocci Village was considered normal and not special by residents.
The karst bed was in the middle of rice fields owned by Mr. Ahmad, a citizen of Balloci. In fact, it was considered disturbing. The karst garden was then just a place for herdsmen to tether their herds.
Once, someone visited Mr. Ahmad’s family to buy his karst to be used as cement material. The family agreed. For unknown reasons, the buyer canceled it unilaterally.
A year later, suddenly the picture of this karst cluster circulated in social media. It was the beginning of this place visited by hundreds of travelers to enjoy the beautiful nature panorama. By a number of visitors, this place was called “Balocci Karst Park”.
We also had the opportunity to visit this karst park. From Pangkajene Town to Sepe’e, Bonto-Bonto Hamlet, Balleangin Village, Balocci District, it takes 35 minutes driving.
Then, we walked through the fields, across the yellowish paddy bed. About 5 minutes later, this Balocci karst park was appeared before us.
This park does have an attraction. Large black coral-like rocks spread over 4 hectares of land, combined with green grass that seems to fence a bunch of karst. The karst is composed of limestone.
The structure looks like a ladder to a hill. There are towering ones and there are hollow ones to form limestone caves.
The shape of the karst is various. There are ladder-like ones which form tower hills. There are tower-like ones which stand alone or in groups to form a towering limestone cluster which will make you gasp, as if being thrown into the stone age of thousands of years ago.
There are also some sloping and flat land above the green grass in the middle of the karst bed which are perfect for setting up camps and enjoying the atmosphere of a star-filled night like in the ancient times.
This is one of the beauty and uniqueness of Pangkep mainland. Geologically, its karst area was formed due to dissolution of rocks (generally limestone and dolomite) by water and the influence of geological structural factors, relief, climate, and time.
These unique karst towers and Balocci karts park are the result of the earth’s surface lifting from under the sea.